Through ‘deferred action’ permits, the US granted temporary deportation relief to more than 741,500 people – now many of them fear for their future

Ivy has lived in the US for most of her life, but with Donald Trump now president-elect, she’s gathering her belongings in one safe place in case she is abruptly deported.

The 26-year old is one of the more than 741,500 people the government granted temporary deportation relief to, through Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) policy, and who are now wondering: will I be deported by Trump?

“There’s no time for us to just feel, we have to act,” she said. “The bottom line is here and this is it.” Ivy asked for her full name not to be used because of the influx of hate mail she has received since Trump’s victory.

It was not clear how Trump would implement many of his campaign promises, but one of his clearest targets for destruction as president was Daca. He promised to “immediately terminate President Obama’s two illegal executive amnesties” and to ensure that “anyone who enters the US illegally is subject to deportation”.

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It is assumed that he is referring to Obama’s 2012 and 2014 executive actions to extend temporary deportation relief to people such as Ivy, who was brought to the US as a child from Macau, the place where she was born, but that she hardly knows, having not returned there in 20 years.

Daca recipients are able to go to school and work in the US for two years. After that, they can re-apply for the program, paying a fee each time. “It’s been like a dream,” said Ivy, whose family is in the US legally.

Ivy is grateful that she was raised in New York City, where immigrants have long been the backbone of the city. But that feeling of appreciation is harder to cling to when faced with the reality that 59.8 million Americans voted for Trump, whose campaign was defined by anti-immigrant sentiments.

“I think this election has changed my optimism,” Ivy said, before adding: “The system doesn’t work for you, you have to work the system.”

This is the same message being pushed by immigration advocates such as Marielena Hincapié, executive director at the National Immigration Law Center (NILC).

“Trump’s election must serve as a wake-up call for everyone who shares our vision for a more inclusive America that treats everyone with dignity and fairness,” Hincapié said.

I think this election has changed my optimism. The system doesn’t work for you, you have to work the system Ivy

National Council of La Raza president and CEO Janet Murguía felt similarly a day into America’s new political reality. “We want to reassure our community and our fellow Americans that if the new administration continues to be steeped in the politics of division and blame, then we will continue to stand up and defend the 58 million Latinos in this country, along with the values our nation holds dear: tolerance and inclusion.”

Advocates have been critical of Obama’s immigration policy, which saw 2.4 million deportations between 2009 to 2014 – more deportations than under any other administration in this country’s history. But Trump presents a new, uncertain threat.

His policy plans won’t be clear until he is in office, but people are already worried about what will happen to Daca recipients’ personal information. When the program was first introduced, many were reluctant to join because they thought it was an easy way for the government to collect the personal information of undocumented immigrants. That fear had eased, until election night.

“One of the things we’re going to be urging the government to do is to not release those records,” said Thanu Yakupitiyage, senior communications manager at the New York Immigration Coalition. “Those records are private, those records are from individuals who gave their trust to the government and the Obama administration, and that needs to be respected.”

But until Trump’s plans become more clear, Yakupitiyage said the focus is on making sure undocumented immigrants know their rights and prepare for scenarios that could play out during Trump’s time in office.

Oliver Merino, who has been living in the US undocumented since he was 10, began by protesting in his home of Charlotte, North Carolina, and meeting with activists from other communities that were threatened during Trump’s campaign.

“We don’t necessarily have control of what he does but we have control over how we will react,” said Merino.

He said Daca, which he has had for three years, helped him get a job as a museum educator. While he is concerned about losing his Daca protections, he is more concerned about how Trump’s immigration policies could impact his family.

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“I’m worried more about people who have been forgotten in this [Daca] narrative – people like my mom, my dad, who did not qualify for deferred action,” Merino said.

They would have been protected under the other executive action Trump is expected to strike – November 2014’s Dapa, which sought to extend deportation protections to more people, including the parents of those who qualified for Daca. This action was effectively blocked by the supreme court in June and has little chance of surviving a Trump presidency.

Merino thinks Trump’s victory has placed greater urgency on people to apply for programs such as Daca, which he is helping his brother apply to for the first time. “It is a fear that maybe the government has your information, but what I always tell people is don’t let fear prevent you from seeking what you’re looking for and to paralyze you and make you go back into a clandestine life,” Merino said.

This was the message being sent on social media in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s victory, where undocumented immigrants rallied around #HereToStay to express their opposition to Trump’s deportation promises.

“Even though this is a setback, this is not the end for us,” Merino said. “We’re here, we’re not going anywhere.”