One of Fernando Macias’s worst high school memories is the driving theory class he took when he was 16. It was a requirement to graduate. It would have given him a thrill – the prospect of having his own car, of driving, of freedom – but it felt like a betrayal. Because when their instructor asked students to bring in their IDs to start the process of applying for a license, Macias knew he couldn’t do that. He didn’t have one. That year, Macias and several of his Mexico-born friends watched their American classmates get their licenses and ecstatically show them off. It made him angry. It made him sad. “I didn’t even see the point in taking the class because I wasn’t ever going to be a licensed driver,” he says. Ironically, he ended up getting an “A.” But Macias’ life unexpectedly changed in 2012 when President Obama announced a new program called DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). While not a path to citizenship, it guaranteed young people living in the U.S. since 2007 the right to remain in the country for two years – and to work, go to college, and apply for a driver’s license. When Macias’ mother, Yanet, told him about DACA and about the license part, “I said, ‘I’m going for this.’” And he … Continue reading Two years later: DACA transforms an 18-year-old’s life