People in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are taking the spotlight away from illegal immigrants who are seeking a solution to immigration issues, one illegal immigrant said Monday in The San Diego Union-Tribune.
"I'm very bitter," Sam Paredes told the Union-Tribune. "These DACA kids definitely have this sense of entitlement. People fought for them and they got DACA and they got their work permit and then they went to sleep, instead of working to fight for the rest of us."
Paredes is a taxpayer and has waited for years for immigration reform that could put him on a pathway to becoming an American citizen, the report said.
The focus on Dreamers, referring to recipients of DACA, who were brought to the U.S. as children by illegal immigrants, has led to tension in the community between those who qualify for DACA and those who do not, the Union-Tribune reported.
DACA recipient and immigrant rights activist Hilario Yanez said in a "Fox & Friends" interview that President Donald Trump has shown "leadership and compassion" for Dreamers.
"Here's a guy who wants to provide a pathway to citizenship for myself and really make a difference in my life," Yanez said.
Karla Estrada, also a DACA recipient and immigrant rights activist, said she is attempting to understand why DACA recipients would agree to compromise on immigration relief.
"I truly believe that desperation has led some of us to the degree, I'm hoping, of temporary insanity. They see no other option. They see no other door," Estrada told the Union-Tribune.
"It's very disheartening and sad. We’re supposed to be a united community and we obviously are not," Estrada added.
Some immigration hardliners are not pleased with the possibility of a Trump plan to legalize DACA recipients.
"He ran on a platform to build the border wall and strong border security, so it was an unpleasant surprise to border control activists, like myself," said Robin Hvidston, director of We the People Rising, a group that supports stricter enforcement of immigration rules.
Hvidston believes DACA recipients will be a source of support for other illegal immigrants, saying if DACA bills pass, then those in the program would advocate for illegal immigrants who are not.
"The overall impression is that DACA recipients are the champions of those here illegally," Hvidston told the Union-Tribune.
A Migration Policy Institute report in January said an estimated 3.6 million illegal immigrants were brought to the U.S. as children, about a third of all illegals in America, the report said.
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