>> Sreenivasan: A RECENT

WASHINGTON POST/ABC NEWS POLL

FOUND THAT 87% OF AMERICANS

BELIEVE THAT DREAMERS, THE YOUNG

UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS WHO WERE

BROUGHT INTO THE UNITED STATES

AS CHILDREN, SHOULD BE ALLOWED

TO STAY IN THE COUNTRY.

AND WHILE LEADERS ON BOTH SIDES

OF THE AISLE, INCLUDING

PRESIDENT TRUMP, HAVE EXPRESSED

A DESIRE TO GIVE THE DREAMERS A

PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP, THERE IS

STILL NO DEAL.

THE DREAMERS ARE A DIVERSE

GROUP, LIVING AND WORKING IN A

COUNTRY THEY HOPE WILL NOT KICK

THEM OUT.

NEWSHOUR WEEKEND'S IVETTE

FELICIANO HAS THE STORY OF ONE

DREAMER WHO'S DOING SOMETHING

YOU MIGHT NOT EXPECT.

>> Reporter: IMMIGRATION LAWYER

LUIS CORTES ROMERO'S DAY BEGINS

AT 6:00 A.M. AT SEATTLE,

WASHINGTON'S FEDERAL

IMMIGRATION COURT.

TODAY, HE'S HERE TO DEFEND A

14-YEAR OLD GUATEMALAN BOY WHO

ARRIVED UNACCOMPANIED IN THE

UNITED STATES AFTER WITNESSING

HIS FATHER'’’S MURDER.

AT 2:00 P.M., CORTES ROMERO IS

30 MILES AWAY AT TACOMA'S

NORTHWEST DETENTION CENTER TO

DEFEND A FORMER GANG MEMBER FROM

BEING DEPORTED.

BY 5:00 P.M., HE'S FINALLY

ARRIVED AT HIS LAW OFFICE JUST

SOUTH OF SEATTLE, WHERE HE MEETS

WITH THE FAMILY OF A WOMAN FOR

WHOM HE'S HELPED SECURE REFUGEE

STATUS.

SO FAR, THAT'S PRETTY PAR FOR

THE COURSE.

BUT WHAT SETS CORTES ROMERO

APART FROM OTHER IMMIGRATION

LAWYERS IS THAT, LIKE MOST OF

HIS CLIENTS, HE TOO IS AN

UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT.

WHAT WERE YOU TOLD ABOUT YOUR

STATUS GROWING UP?

>> I DEFINITELY KNEW WHAT IT

FELT TO BE UNDOCUMENTED, THOUGH

I DIDN'T REALLY KNOW WHAT IT

MEANT.

BECAUSE IN WHERE WE WERE LIVING,

THERE WERE A LOT OF ICE RAIDS.

IT WAS... IT WASN'T UNCOMMON TO

HEAR ABOUT IT AT OUR

NEIGHBORHOOD STORE OR THE

APARTMENT COMPLEX WE WERE LIVING

IN.

AND SO, THAT FEAR WAS VERY REAL,

BUT I DIDN'T REALLY KNOW, LIKE,

WHAT THE OUTSIDE CONSEQUENCES

WAS OF BEING DEPORTED.

>> Reporter: CORTES ROMERO WAS

BROUGHT TO THE UNITED STATES IN

1989 FROM MEXICO WHEN HE WAS

JUST OVER A YEAR OLD.

BUT IT WAS ONLY WHEN HIS FATHER

WAS DEPORTED IN 2004 THAT THE

REALITIES OF BEING UNDOCUMENTED

IN AMERICA BEGAN TO SINK IN.

>> AT THIS POINT, I WAS IN MY

BEGINNING STAGES OF HIGH SCHOOL,

AND SO, YOU KNOW, I WAS FORMING

MY IDENTITY.

AND SO, IT WAS DIFFICULT TO DEAL

WITH FROM AN IDENTITY FRONT.

IT WAS DIFFICULT TO NOT BE MAD

AT MY PARENTS.

IT WAS DIFFICULT NOT TO BE MAD

AT THE IMMIGRATION SYSTEM.

IT WAS DIFFICULT NOT TO BE MAD

AT MY PEERS FOR HAVING THIS

PRIVILEGE OF THEM NOT HAVING TO

THINK ABOUT IT.

>> Reporter: CORTES ROMERO ALSO

FACED DIFFICULTY APPLYING TO

COLLEGES, MOST OF WHICH REQUIRED

A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, WHICH

HE DIDN'’’T HAVE.

HE WAS EVENTUALLY ACCEPTED TO

SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY, WHICH

ACCEPTED HIS STUDENT I.D. FROM A

LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE IN PLACE

OF A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.

HIS COLLEGE DEGREE HELPED EARN

HIM A PLACE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF

IDAHO, WHERE HE ENTERED LAW

SCHOOL IN 2010.

YOU'’’RE STUDYING LAW, LEGALITY.

YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO UPHOLD THE

LAW.

AND HERE YOU ARE WITH THIS

SECRET, AN UNDOCUMENTED STATUS.

>> YEAH, YOU KNOW, IT... IT'S

DEFINITELY A LOT TO... TO TRY TO

DECIPHER.

AND ULTIMATELY WHAT I... WHAT I

REALLY GOT OUT OF LAW SCHOOL I

THINK AT THE END WAS THAT THE

LAW'’’S SUPPOSED TO BE FAIR.

>> Reporter: AND THEN, IN 2012,

DURING CORTES ROMERO'S THIRD

YEAR IN LAW SCHOOL, AN

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE WHITE

HOUSE CHANGED HIS WORLD.

>> EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, THE

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

IS TAKING STEPS TO LIFT THE

SHADOW OF DEPORTATION FROM THESE

YOUNG PEOPLE.

>> Reporter: THE DEFERRED ACTION

ON CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS, OR

"DACA," ALLOWED CORTES ROMERO,

AND ALMOST 800,000 OTHERS LIKE

HIM WHO HAD BEEN BROUGHT TO THIS

COUNTRY AS CHILDREN, TO APPLY

FOR WORK PERMITS WITHOUT THE

FEAR OF DEPORTATION.

>> IT'S HARD TO EXPLAIN THE...

THE SHIFT THAT IT HAS ON A

PERSON TO BE RECOGNIZED.

WHEN YOU FINALLY GET YOUR

IDENTITY, IT'S REALLY SOMETHING

THAT I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED

SINCE THEN OR EVEN BEFORE THEN,

AND IT MADE ME SO MUCH MORE

CONFIDENT.

I WASN'T SCARED ABOUT BEING

DEPORTED.

IT CHANGED WHO I WAS.

>> Reporter: CORTES ROMERO

GRADUATED LAW SCHOOL IN 2013.

A YEAR LATER, CALIFORNIA'S

SUPREME COURT RULED THAT

UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS COULD

PRACTICE LAW UNDER THE STATE'S

CONSTITUTION.

HE WAS GRANTED A CALIFORNIA

LAW LICENSE IN 2016, WHICH HE

CAN USE TO PRACTICE FEDERAL

IMMIGRATION ANYWHERE IN THE

COUNTRY.

WHEN YOU'RE GOING INTO THESE

SPACES, IN IMMIGRATION COURT, DO

YOU TAKE ANY SPECIAL

PRECAUTIONS?

DO YOU EVER FEEL FEAR?

>> THE TIME THAT I THINK ABOUT

IT THE MOST, INTERESTINGLY

ENOUGH, IS WHEN WE WIN CASES

BECAUSE THERE ARE SITUATIONS

WHERE I WILL WIN A CASE FOR MY

CLIENT, AND NOW HE'S IN A BETTER

POSITION THAN I AM WALKING OUT

OF THAT COURTROOM THAN WHEN WE

BOTH WALKED IN THERE.

>> Reporter: BUT THIS PAST

SEPTEMBER, CORTES ROMERO FOUND

HIMSELF WORRIED ABOUT

DEPORTATION ALL OVER AGAIN WHEN

ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS

ANNOUNCED THAT THE JUSTICE

DEPARTMENT WOULD END THE DACA

PROGRAM IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR.

TWO WEEKS AFTER THE ATTORNEY

GENERAL'S ANNOUNCEMENT, SIX DACA

RECIPIENTS FILED A LAWSUIT

AGAINST THE TRUMP

ADMINISTRATION, AND ONE OF THE

LAWYERS REPRESENTING THEM IS

LUIS CORTES ROMERO.

WHAT IS THE ARGUMENT?

WHAT'’’S THE COMPLAINT?

>> PRESIDENT TRUMP SAID ON

VARIOUS OCCASIONS EVEN AFTER HE

WAS ELECTED, YOU KNOW, "I'M

GOING TO TREAT THE DACA

RECIPIENTS WITH A BIG HEART.

DACA INDIVIDUALS HAVE NOTHING TO

WORRY ABOUT."

AND HE SAID IT OVER AND OVER AND

OVER AGAIN.

SO, PEOPLE MADE PLANS ON THAT.

PEOPLE RENEWED ON THAT.

PEOPLE APPLIED FOR THE FIRST

TIME ON THAT.

AND SO, TO SAY, "NOPE, JOKE'S ON

YOU; WE'RE TAKING... NOW WE HAVE

ALL YOUR INFORMATION, THANKS,

AND WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THIS

AWAY," IS SOMETHING THAT IS NOT

JUST UNFAIR, BUT UNLAWFUL.

>> Reporter: WHETHER OR NOT THE

PRESIDENT'S ACTIONS ARE UNLAWFUL

IS DEBATABLE, AND THE CASE MAY

BE DISMISSED IF CONGRESS IS ABLE

TO PASS LEGISLATION PROTECTING

DACA RECIPIENTS BEFORE THE MARCH

DEADLINE.

IN THE MEANTIME, CORTES ROMERO

CONTINUES HIS WORK, DEFENDING

THE UNDOCUMENTED, AND, IN THE

PROCESS, DEFENDING HIMSELF.