*By Bridgette Webb* It's been a year since President Trump moved to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly known as DACA. The program is still afloat, but remains on shaky ground, leaving roughly 700,000 young undocumented immigrants in limbo. It's an issue that weighs heavy on "Dreamer" Victor Santos, a CEO and co-Founder of Boston-based start-up Airfox. "Since the Trump administration, it's not quite clear on what will come of DACA in the next few years," Santos said Monday in an interview on Cheddar. DACA allows certain individuals who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children to receive permits to avoid deportation on a two-year, renewable basis and eventually become eligible for a work permit. Reneging on this policy ultimately precludes these people from contributing to the economy, which could have a big effect on the country, Santos said. "As an entrepreneur, having Trump cancel the start-up visa and making it harder and harder for H-1B entrepreneurs \[to come\] into the U.S., it's been an impactful experience for myself, but also for engineers that we bring on from other countries," he said. "DACA is creating billions in terms of output for the economy, these kids are doctors and entrepreneurs; they are people that considers themselves American." Airfox, a mobile bank, has 20 employees and provides financial services for emerging industries like mobile microloans to "unbanked" users in Brazil, where interest rates chart upwards of 200 percent. The immigration debate will inevitably rage on, and may very well head to the U.S. Supreme Court. In Texas, there was a surprise ruling in which a judge kept the DACA program in place, a decision that may undergo federal scrutiny. The future is further in question as the U.S. awaits confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. The conservative judge, who faced four days of Senate hearings last week, will most likely vote with right-leaning colleagues to squash DACA. The confirmation process, Santos said, is detracting from the real-life ramifications of killing the program. "This whole thing is purely political and quite frankly, racist, to say the least," he said. For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/daca-uncertainty-leaves-dreamers-in-limbo).

Share:
More In Culture
As U.S. Opioid Crisis Worsens, Price of Life-Saving Drug Naloxone Skyrockets
Jill Wagner and Baker Machado break down the state of the Opioid Crisis in the U.S. The CDC reported a 30% increase in overdose deaths from 2020 to 2021, but in recent months pharmaceutical companies have drastically raised the price of Naloxone or 'Narcan,' affecting the response of community harm prevention groups.
Examining the State of the Ride-Share Industry After Earnings From Uber and Lyft
The two biggest names in the ride-sharing industry reported earnings this week. Uber and Lyft both beat Wall Street expectations on their top and bottom lines, as the companies and the ride-sharing industry have recently faced several challenges like the pandemic, the supply chain crisis, and driver shortages. Johnson Research Group CEO Chris Johnson joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Mythical Games Raises $150 Million to Launch Playable NFT Game Platform
Gaming technology studio Mythical Games recently raised $150 million in a round led by Andreesen Horowitz, bringing Mythical's valuation to above unicorn status at $1.2 billion. Mythical Games' mission is to create a new generation of gaming with play-to-earn games that allow players to play to win actual cryptocurrency. Now the company is taking it to another level with NFT technology, allowing players to play with characters they can truly own. Mythical Games CEO John Linden joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Wedding Industry Bogged Down by Supply Chain Issues After Year of Postponed Ceremonies
The pandemic caused chaos in the wedding industry after ceremonies were postponed last year. But now couples face a new problem as they look toward their big day: supply chain issues. Tim Chi, CEO at The Knot, joined Cheddar to provide some additional details about the supply constraints affecting everything from venues to flowers. Chi also talked about The Knot celebrating its 25th anniversary and how the business has transformed over the years.
How To Attain 'Peak Mind'
Living in 2021 brings a lot of distractions from mindlessly scrolling down your timeline for hours, to stretching yourself thin by multi-tasking daily. How do we find the ability to train our brains to focus on being present in the moment? Author, Dr. Amishi Jha joined Cheddar to discuss her new book “Peak Mind,” that tackles these issues.
Load More