If you’re a DACA recipient who has chosen to live a quiet, non-public life, no one is judging you. But we are feeling very inspired and encouraged watching the life of Luis Cortes Romero, a DACA recipient who has chosen to put his immigration status front and center to make history as the first undocumented attorney to argue before the United States Supreme Court.
Luis’ story may sound familiar to many. In middle school Luis, like his fellow classmates, was selling candy to raise money for a class trip to Europe. Despite selling more candy than anyone else in his class, Luis wasn’t able to go on the trip. His mom had to break the news to him that he was undocumented.
But Luis, with the encouragement of his family, was determined not to let his undocumented status stand in the way of his career goals, and he graduated from college and was accepted to law school, obtaining DACA status during his legal education.
In 2019 Luis became the first undocumented attorney to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court when he argued against the dismantling of DACA in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California. His (and his team’s) arguments were ultimately successful, and the Supreme Court ruled that DHS’s decision to discontinue DACA was “arbitrary and capricious.”
Today, however, DACA is under threat, because a 2021 ruling by a federal judge in Texas stopped anyone new from enrolling in DACA. Since that time the outcome of DACA has been pending. DACA was started by President Obama in 2012 by executive order, and it shields an estimated 700,000 Dreamers from deportation and allows them to be eligible for work authorization, as long as they were brought to the United States illegally before they turned 16, graduate from high school, and avoid felony convictions. Although new DACA applications will not be decided until the court case ruling, DACA renewals are still allowed to process. It is very important that if you are a current DACA recipient you file to renew your status before it expires, at least 150 days prior to its expiration.
Today, Luis Cortes Romero is still fighting for the rights of DACA recipients. You can watch his inspirational story “From Here/From There” (De Aquí /De Allá), which premiered on PBS on July 9.
If you have questions about your DACA status or need help filing a renewal, you can reach us at (757) 422-8472, or send us a message on our website. You can also schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys by clicking on this link.
