ST PAUL, Minn. — "I came to the United States when I was very young, 3-years-old, and Minnesota has always been my home," says Carolina Ortiz, with Copal MN.
Ortiz is one of more than 700,000 "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" program recipients – also known as "dreamers" - in the US, now issuing a sigh of relief.
"As a DACA recipient, I can just tell you it was a moment to breathe," says Ortiz.
Newly sworn in President Joe Biden issued a series of executive orders related to immigration reform - including an end to the Muslim travel ban, and a plan to preserve and fortify DACA, which provides temporary relief for dreamers brought to this country as children.
"We are really heartened by the fact that the new president has committed to reforming our immigration system on day one," says Veena Iyer, the Executive Director for the Immigration Law Center of Minnesota.
President Biden also introduced the US Citizenship Act of 2021, new legislation sent to Congress that would provide an 8 year pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
"The president's priority reflected in the bill is to responsibly manage the border, keep families together, grow the economy, address the root cause of migration from Central America and ensure America can remain a refuge for those fleeing prosecution," said Jen Psaki, the new White House press secretary during a Wednesday press conference.
The Department of Homeland Services also announced that the Biden administration will halt most deportations for 100 days, beginning this Friday.
But some say it will take bipartisan support and time to reverse administrative changes that happened over the last four years.
"An investment in resources to roll back changes as quickly as possible and to move forward into progress," says Iyer. "This new administration has definitely opened this conversation, but it's important that we, the people, must [be] actively participating if we want to see those changes," says Ortiz.
President Biden also issued an executive order reversing the Trump administration's policy to exclude undocumented immigrants from the US Census.
If you would like to learn more about COPAL MN, visit their website here.