TEXAS: For nearly two decades, Valeria Serna has lived just a six-hour drive away from her extended family in northern Mexico.
But not once has she gone home to visit them.
When she was eight years old, her mother took her illegally across the border to the United States. Serna said she lived in fear every day of being discovered in the country undocumented.
At age 18, she finally received some semblance of stability.
She was granted protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme – a federal scheme that allows certain undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children to live and work in the country without the fear of deportation.
“It kind of made me feel like I could finally call this place home – like they also accepted me. It gave me a sense of confidence,” she told CNA.
Now, however, new fears have emerged.
Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as the next US president next week, has vowed to make immediate and sweeping changes on day one, including initiating the largest mass deportation in American history.
COULD TRUMP USE THE MILITARY?
While details of Trump’s plan remain scant, he has threatened to mobilise the US military to help remove up to 11 million people who are in the country illegally.
It remains rare for US troops to be deployed domestically, but it is not unheard of.
