President Biden is a champion for Dreamers: we must reelect him come november

Two years ago, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor; as striking as the news was, I found some relief in knowing that I had health care coverage. After 20 years of living undocumented, and being a former DACA recipient, I was finally a U.S. citizen with access to health care. However, I kept thinking, what would've happened had this not been the case? I thought about the hundreds of thousands of people like me, DACA beneficiaries, who consider this country their only home, having come at a young age, but dread the day when they might fall ill.

That’s why when this past April the Biden-Harris administration announced they were expanding access to affordable quality health care coverage to DACA recipients, I celebrated just as I did back in 2012, when then-President Obama and then-Vice President Biden created the life-changing policy that allowed young people who came as children to this country to live and work lawfully. A policy that has opened doors of possibility to us Dreamers, because more than Dreamers, we have always been doers. Now, Dreamers are doctors, service members, business owners, first responders, and more. We’ve even made it to the White House - through the intentional work that the administration has taken up to expand opportunities to individuals like myself who had the life-changing opportunity to serve as a Senior Policy Advisor in the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development from 2022-2024.

Now, as President Biden continues to call on Congress to provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and has proactively strengthened DACA through executive actions, he is providing Dreamers with the fundamentals they need to succeed, including expanding access to affordable, quality health care to approximately 100,000 Dreamers.

For those of us whose livelihoods depend on it, President Biden’s actions to protect and preserve DACA show a striking contrast with those of Trump and MAGA Republicans. Trump has a record of trying to end DACA and will try again if he wins another term. This comes as no surprise from someone who constantly demonizes our mere existence, calling us murderers and rapists, and even saying people like us are “poisoning the blood of our country.”

This November, the choice is clear. As a former DACA recipient, an immigrant, a New Mexican, and a U.S. citizen for 3 years now, I believe in the importance of electing people who understand that health care is a right, not a privilege. President Biden and Vice President Harris promised to protect and strengthen the Affordable Care Act, and they have kept that promise—lowering costs and expanding coverage so that every American has the peace of mind that health insurance brings. This expansion of access to health care coverage delivers on the president’s commitment by giving DACA recipients that same peace of mind and opportunity.

At my core, I know that representation and a seat at the table matter. Those in positions of power should follow President Biden's lead and commit to fighting to preserve and fortify DACA as we continue to call on Congress to provide Dreamers with permanent status and a pathway to citizenship.

As one of the first former DACA recipients to receive a White House presidential appointment, and now as I continue my work to become the first former DACA recipient to win elected office come November as New Mexico’s state Senate District 9 candidate it is clear to me that President Biden is the only candidate who stands for the needs of communities like mine.

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