Group holds DACA rally downtown

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - A group gathered in downtown Tuesday afternoon to rally for a solution for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Organizers danced to show solidarity with DACA recipients and their families.

"We're just here to celebrate that we're still here and that we have a community that we can believe in," said Paulina Canez, a DACA recipient.

Tens of thousands of people have been limbo the past six months, as Congress failed to find a permanent solution for the young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

"There's just been no progress," Canez said. "The majority of us are in the same situation and you just don't know what's going to happen. [You] hope for the best for everybody."

Canez, a senior in high school, came to Tucson with her family 17 years ago.

"Tucson is all I remember growing up. I don't remember anything from Mexico and it is my home," she said.

Canez was approved for the DACA program last August. Just a month later, the Trump administration announced they would be phasing out the program. Canez said she found herself hopeless and without answers.

"I'm a senior, I'm going to college in the fall, and that's what I've always wanted to do. It'll be a lot harder for me to achieve my goals."

At this point, the future of DACA recipients is tied up in the courts and up in the air, Canez said however, she'll remain hopeful.

"Just celebrate our lives, and that we're still here, and that we matter," she said.

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