COLUMBUS, Ohio — Elvis Saldias has called Ohio home for most of his life.

What You Need To Know

  • Elvis Saldias moved to Ohio with his family when he was nine. He graduated from Ohio State, worked at Nationwide Insurance and is now in law school at Loyola University Chicago

  • Saldias grew up as an undocumented immigrant and is now a DACA recipient

  • DACA allows undocumented children who grew up in America to apply for renewable two-year permits to work legally

  • Saldias shares experience under the Trump administration and express hope for future

He moved here when he was nine years old, got an education and started working.

“I initially started at community college while I was working, then I transferred to Ohio State then I worked at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus for around two to three years,” Saldias said.

He’s now working toward his law degree at Loyola University Chicago.

He’s achieved a lot in this country, despite not being a legal citizen.

“I was always aware that I was undocumented as a 9-year-old and sort of just lived that way with that mindset and the knowledge that I was different,” Saldias said.

Salidas and his family left Bolivia to come to the United States for a better life, something immigration lawyer, Rob Cohen, said most immigrants strive for and usually create for themselves.

“The immigrant community is a high achieving, they contribute and we rely upon them,” Cohen said.

But he said the Trump administration didn’t make it feel that way, focusing on heavy border control, and trying to put an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival or DACA program.

DACA gives undocumented children who grew up in the country the chance to apply for a renewable two-year permit, allowing them to work legally and avoid deportation.

“Every day was a new problem. Every day we thought, 'Oh this can’t get worse and it did.'”

But now with a change in administrations, Cohen says he is hopeful.

“President Biden has expanded DACA and we’re not going to see the daily fear that it’s going to be and people's lives are (not) going to be disrupted.”

It’s something Salidas says is a relief, but also not enough.

“The next administration, if they are Republican, they can also just undo this program. So what I would like to see is DACA codified into law,” Saldias said.