For Azura Aguilar, receiving an envelope in the mail from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would normally evoke a feeling of terror: the fear of being deported to Mexico, which she left when she was 8 years old. But on September 17, she ripped open her envelope with a mounting sense of joy. Inside was a notice that her application for the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was being processed by the USCIS. It was cause for celebration at the Puente office, with hugs all around. It meant that Aguilar’s dreams may actually come true. “I can start driving to school with no problem, getting to work. And after my major I can actually work somewhere I want to be,” says the 20-year-old. Under DACA, successful program applicants (all aged 30 or younger) are guaranteed the right to remain in the U.S for two years and work.  The paperwork must be renewed every two years. Aguilar, of course, has already been living and working in the U.S. for some time. She has two part-time jobs in addition to her coursework at community college. But now she also has the hope that, when she graduates, she can start a career in her chosen field – child psychology. Aguilar is one of 14 young people from Coastside communities who … Continue reading Students soon free to work, study, and dream