Daisy Garcia Montoya
Editorial Assistant

VozKC organized a rally in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program after the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold the program, blocking the Trump administration from immediately ending the program.

DACA is a program created under President Obama that allows qualified individuals who arrived in the U.S. as children to receive a temporary legal status after passing all requirements such as a background test.

The rally took place at Concourse Park in Northeast starting around 6 P.M. The event featured multiple guest speakers such as Missouri House Representative Barbara Washington (D-23), Kansas House Representative Susan Ruiz (D-23), and U.S. House Representative Emanuel Cleaver II (D-5) among others.

Aly Hernandez, Mayor Quintan Lucas’s executive assistant, spoke about her temporary experience as a DACA recipient before she became a resident. Hernandez credits the program for allowing her to remain in the U.S. and continue her education.

In Missouri, DACA and other undocumented students are unable to recieve in-state tuition. Brandon Henderson, Student Government Association President at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, spoke on the need to change to make higher education accessible to everyone regardless of their legal status.

Cleaver gave credit to the youth population for being the one bringing on change. “Here’s the deal, when change comes, it always comes from young people,” Cleaver said. “You are changing the world and it is the right thing to do.

The event lasted approximately an hour with around one hundred people in attendance. VozKC organizer Manny Albarca addressed the crowd one last time and said, “There’ll be more of these types of events, thank you all for being here and for being engaged. We’ll see you in November at the least.”