The Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a 5-4 decision that the Trump Administration could not end the DACA program – that’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The program allows immigrants who came to the US as children to remain in the country working, and without fear of deportation, as long as they reapply and pay a $495-dollar fine every two years.
28-year-old Argeo Cruz of Ft. Myers has been in the United States, he says, since he was 11 years old, when he and his parents moved from Mexico. Now the assistant cross country coach at FGCU, Cruz says he was happy to hear about the ruling today.
"It’s a big relief for me," he said. "It means that I can stay and pursue my dreams."
In Cruz’s case, those dreams include competing in the Olympics. He made it to the Olympic marathon trials in 2020 but couldn’t compete because he did not have US citizenship. While Thursday’s Supreme Court decision does not provide a path to citizenship for DACA members like Cruz, he hopes it will help get him there eventually.
"It’s a big win for us," he said. "But there’s more work that needs to be done for me to pursue citizenship down the road. That way I can be part of the Olympic trials and hopefully make the Olympics in the future."
