COLUMBIA, S.C. — Elizabeth Bonilla was born in Mexico, but calls South Carolina home.
"I was brought to the States when I was about one, and I've been raised here since," said Bonilla.
She first applied for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2016, four years after President Barack Obama created it using executive order.
After Bonilla was accepted, she was able to avoid deportation, work legally, and get a driver's license.
"I felt very accomplished, a step closer to my goals," Bonilla said. "Knowing that I have the opportunity now to actually go to college, get a real job, just do things that, of course, I never thought about."
A decade after the DACA program began, it's fate is now uncertain. Immigration advocates and DACA recipients in South Carolina like Bonilla are anxiously awaiting a federal appeals court's decision on whether the DACA program is legal.
Last week in Louisiana, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals listened to oral arguments for a federal lawsuit challenging the legality of the program. South Carolina signed onto that lawsuit in 2018.
In a statement to News 19, Attorney General Alan Wilson said in part:
“Even though I don’t think innocent children and teens should be deported, the problem is that the DACA expansion was done by an executive order by President Obama. According to our Constitution, it’s Congress that passes laws, not the president. I signed that letter urging the repeal of the DACA executive order so that Congress will take action to make it a law, which is the way the issue should be handled.”
According to the American Immigration Council there are nearly 9,000 DACA recipients living in South Carolina. Nearly 90% of those recipients are employed in the state's labor force.
"These are folks that are contributing to our state, contributing to our society and are tremendous individuals, talented individuals. And why would they want to make it impossible for them to stay here?" said Director of South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center Sue Berkowitz.
For Bonilla, the court's decision is looming over her every day.
"I fear that, you know, they may take away what I have, and the little bit that I do have, it means a lot," said Bonilla.
The Fifth Circuit's Decision is expected later this year.
State Representative Neal Collins has introduced legislation to change South Carolina's DACA restrictions, however, the bill has yet to pass both chambers.