Olivia P. Tallet Jan. 18, 2018 Updated: Feb. 19, 2018 6:08 p.m.
Juan Gutiérrez was three when he crossed the border illegally from Mexico to Texas in a taxi. He vaguely remembers that his mother asked him to hide on the floor in the back seat of the car, right before passing through a border checkpoint.
Now, 23 and a mechanical engineering student at the University of Houston, Gutiérrez is among a throng of youthful immigrants and members of the Houston clergy that sent 20,000 postcards to area legislators on Thursday, demanding a permanent solution for members of the controversial immigration program called DACA.
In the Houston metro area, the program has shielded from deportation about 35,800 so-called dreamers who came to the country illegally when they were minors, providing them with work permits, according to Pew Research. President Donald Trump suspended that executive order signed by his predecessor in September, and heated negotiations between legislators and the White House to reach a deal for a dreamer's bill are stalled.
The cards were mailed to U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, and U.S. Congressmen Pete Olson and Ted Poe, all from the Republican Party, as well as Democratic congressional representatives Sheila Jackson Lee and Gene Green, among others.
The messages demand that they support DACA and "legislation that keeps immigrants together."
The Metropolitan Organization of Houston, part of a nationwide network of community, religious and business organizations, organized the collection of postcards signed by parishioners in congregations located in Houston's areas of the legislators' districts.
Since DACA was suspended, "we have seen the struggles that families face upon the possibility of being separated," said Pastor, Fr. Carmelo Hernández at the St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Aldine, where he conducts mass.
Legislators from both parties support a long-term solution to shelter dreamers from deportation.
"I do believe it's important for us to find a solution for these young men and women who now find themselves trapped by the fact that they were brought here underage by their own parents," stated Cornyn, in an email from his office.
That seems to be in line with the general sentiment of Americans. In a new CBS News Poll, 70% said they support allowing DACA beneficiaries to remain in the country legally.
Congress has been working on a bipartisan DACA deal.
While the looming deadline is coming, Trump has made clear that he would sign a DACA deal in exchange for Democrats supporting the funding of his promised border wall that comes with an $18 billion price tag.
Immigrant Rights Hotline: 1-888-507- 2970.
Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative: www.houstonimmigration.org is asking for donations to help in paying legal fees for immigrants.
However, Democrats are demanding a "clean deal" and could force a government shutdown.
In a tweet on Wednesday, congresswoman Lee supported Jewish activists protesting in the Senate and demanding a fix for dreamers. "I am with them in calling for a clean #DreamActNow," she wrote.
Republicans, from their part, are trying to gain support for a short-term funding bill to circumvent a shutdown and buy more time. They have expressed support for the President on the border wall and lean toward a separate bill to address DACA together with other immigration issues.
"I support a solution for the DACA young adults," said Cornyn's statement. But, he added, "I think this is an opportunity for us to do something we haven't been able to do, which is to deal with border security; deal, as the President gave us the mandate for, with the diversity visa lottery as well as family-based immigration."
Poe has a similar position, which, according to his office, hasn't changed: "It is past time for Congress to act to finally address our broken immigration system, including strengthening our border security, interior enforcement, and giving clarity to the 'Dreamers.'"
Meantime, about 800,000 young dreamers nationwide "are becoming hostages of the political quandary," said Father Hernández. "They are instead using these young people like pieces for their political chess."
"I would like people to understand just one thing about us dreamers," said Angelica Velásquez, a 20-year-old DACA recipient who help to collect postcards from parishioners of the St. Leo the Great Catholic Church that she attends."We are not asking for free things or handouts."
Velásquez who was brought to Houston by her parents to Houston when she was three years old, and the family entered on tourist visas that they overstayed. "All we want is to be able to work and be part of this society; we are not taking anything away from people, we are contributing," she said.
Last week, a federal judge in California granted a temporary order against the termination of DACA, allowing dreamers who are currently registered with the government to apply for renewal. The Trump administration is already fighting the order in what could become a long battle in court, according to professor Geoffrey Hoffman, director of the University of Houston's Immigration Clinic.
"We are taking advantage of the California judge's order and helping many dreamers that are coming to our offices to renew their DACA as soon as possible," said Cesar Espinosa, who directs non-profit FIEL immigrant activist group in Houston.
"What we need is a permanent solution from Congress now that this problem has national attention; we need to end this constant uncertainty of temporary executive orders and court battles," he added.