Please note this information was compiled and published in July 2022.

Please note this information was compiled and published in July 2022.

My presentation on the status of DACA in 2022:

What is DACA? A glimpse into the realities faced by undocumented children living in the US

Reviewed by experts.
Presented to 500+ high school students in the surrounding Los Angeles area. Viewable online for convenience.

What is the Girl Scout Gold Award?

Earning the Gold Award entails an 80 hour self-led community service project targeted towards initiating a positive lasting change in one’s community. It is the highest award in Girl Scouts.

Issued to Nicolette Lamanna - August 2022

Starting my project

While watching the news in June of 2020, I heard about DACA for the first time. The Supreme Court had overturned President Trump’s attempt to end DACA, giving hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants continued access to the life-changing program. After further researching the Policy, I learned not only of its ability to progress the lifestyle of its recipients, but also the lack of enrollment among eligible applicants mainly due to a lack of knowledge about the program itself. I was immediately inspired to attempt to address this lack of awareness by increasing access to DACA resources with hopes to possibly encourage eligible participants to apply.

Pivoting

In July of 2021, a federal court ruling out of the State of Texas declared DACA as unlawful, and there could no longer be any new applicants. Those already receiving DACA could continue to renew their status. This decision considerably impacted my project, as my objective to potentially help new recipients was no longer feasible since new applications would not be processed. So, I had to pivot halfway through my project.

The basis of my project remained the same in terms of the concrete steps I completed, including researching DACA, interviewing immigration experts, delivering presentations to other high school students, and creating a website. However, my objective changed: rather than gearing my project towards potential applicants, I shifted my focus towards the future of DACA. I spread awareness about DACA’s current status to my peers with hopes they would be empowered to keep DACA in the public conversation. I am hopeful that one day DACA will be brought back, and I want to empower others to feel the same.

June 2012

President Obama creates DACA Policy

January 2017 - January 2021

July 2021 - Present

In the next few years…

President Trump attempts to terminate DACA throughout his time in office

Texas federal court ruling declares DACA as unlawful

Stops new applications, only allows for renewals

New DACA ruling likely if enough support is gained