Openly-undocumented lawyer has powerful message to fellow Dreamers on Trump's DACA decision
President Trump revoked last week the Obama-era policy that protects immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. as children -- and beneficiaries of the legislation are speaking out.
Ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Trump tossed 800,000 young people's futures into uncertainty, and one of those young people is making his voice heard. Cesar Vargas, New York's first openly-undocumented lawyer, told AOL News Dreamers now "have to hope for the best but prepare for the worst."
While Vargas called the action a "setback," he offered advice to his fellow Dreamers, insisting they continue to tell their stories. "What has been our strength has always been our stories," he told AOL. "Our stories are very powerful."
"Keep studying, keep going to school, keep contributing to the country that you call home," he added.
RELATED: DACA protesters
Vargas recently teamed up with Human Rights Watch for a Facebook video, putting a face to the hundreds of thousands of immigrants impacted by this repeal.
In the video, Vargas reads hateful tweets from anti-immigrant users.
The president faced a tidal wave of backlash not only from DACA recipients and DACA supporters but also from fellow politicians, religious leaders and business leaders. Following the criticism and a conversation with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Trump sent a seemingly supportive tweet, saying Dreamers have “nothing to worry about."
Vargas told AOL News that he feels after the swift backlash Trump "really did see that it probably wasn't the best decision" and that his tweet "was his way of saying to everyone 'I think I made a mistake.'"
The New York attorney credited all those who have helped him. He said he has only been able to make it this far "because of other incredible people who supported me and because they heard my story and because they believed in my story."
