Anna Marmolejo came to the United states when she was just 11 months old.
“I am American,” Marmolejo said. “I claim this as my country, even though it doesn’t claim me back.”
She is one of thousands of people across the country who have legal protection from DACA. It started in 2012 with the Obama Administration executive order. DACA was just meant to be a temporary fix for immigration in the United States that would allow children of immigrants to work and go to college here.
“I do have a little bit mixed with me, but I’m an American, all in all, except on paper,” Mamolejo said.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced an end to that protection starting in March. That’s why Georgia Women hosted a rally in support of the program Wednesday night. Georgia Women's president Claire Cox says the change could split up families.
“We'll have 800,000 people in our country that our nation is then going to send them back to a country that many of them have never known, to places they’ve never lived, and languages they've never spoken,” Cox said.
Trump administration’s announcement puts pressure on Congress to pass legislation to protect DACA recipients like Marmolejo. She hopes Congress can agree on legislation that will help her achieve naturalization.
“I’m really hoping that Congress and everybody in leadership position that can do something will step up to the plate and say, 'We are the voices of these students that don’t have a voice,'” Marmolejo said.