Questions About Trump Immigration Policy Create Anxiety For Some Chicagoans
(CBS) -- Since the election, attorneys across the country and here in Chicago say they've taken a flurry of phone calls from people worried about President-elect Donald Trump's tough stand on immigration.
CBS 2's Jim Williams talks to two women who came to the United States as children, now worried about their futures.
Karen Villagomez came to the U.S. when she was two. Today, she's a student at Northwestern Law School.
"I feel so grateful to be there and to be pursuing a career path that I love and I'm passionate about," she says.
Linda Sanchez was 6 when her family moved here. She's now a legal assistant.
"This has been a great country, for me," she says. "My life is here."
Neither can even remember when they lived in Mexico. Both are enrolled in the program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, an executive action signed by President Obama.
"DACA came to change my life on many levels," Sanchez says. "I was not able to drive. I was not able to work. I had a very different life."
Those eligible for DACA must have come to the U-S before their 16th birthday; been in the U.S. before June 15, 2007; and must renew their DACA status every two years.
During the campaign, President-elect Trump called DACA illegal and unconstitutional.
Calls to Jim Hallagan's immigration law firm are soaring since Trump's election.
"There's been a huge increase in, I'd say, in anxiety and panic," he says.
Karen Villagomez says she's only focused on what she can control.
"I'm going to focus on doing well in school and hope for the best," she says.
In a recent interview with Time Magazine, President-elect Trump appeared to soften his position on DACA, pledging to work on an immigration program that'll make people "happy and proud."
