Edgar Vasquez Silva was born in Mexico before coming to America with his family when he was just three years old. Now, decades later, he’s working as a sheriff’s deputy in Mississippi with eyes still set on full U.S. citizenship.
Though not a naturalized citizen, Silva carries a pride for his longtime home of Mississippi and now protects it every day as a member of the Stone County Sheriff’s Department.
“I didn’t have a choice. My mother brought me here for a better life, for a better future,” Silva said during an appearance on The Ricky Mathews Show. “I just want to help people, get to understand them, learn more about them, and be able to make a difference in law enforcement – especially with what’s going on in the world today.”
Silva explained that, as a non-citizen, his work options were limited, leading him to construction and landscaping labor to make a living. But in 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program opened doors for Silva and many others in providing amnesty and pathways to citizenship for those who entered the U.S. as children. Non-citizens were able to obtain a driver’s license, a Social Security number, and lawful employment as DACA recipients via the policy.
The Wiggins resident used the DACA program as a gateway to full-time law enforcement, although in a restricted form due to his non-citizen status. In today’s climate of heightened awareness surrounding illegal immigration, Silva’s presence has become an invaluable one.
“I’m very proud to be able to be in law enforcement so I can help other agencies when it comes to translating,” Silva explained to Fox News Digital, detailing that he has often been the bridge between other officers and Hispanic men and women fearful of law enforcement. “Once I’m able to talk to them in their language, they feel more comfortable, they’re more relaxed.
Mississippi law now prohibits Silva from carrying a firearm and working on patrol, though he finds other ways to serve Stone County, like transporting inmates or as a bailiff, among other duties.
Silva’s patriotism is pronounced, describing the pride he takes from living in America and as an upstanding member of his community. But he also told Fox News that he and the more than half a million other DACA recipients, often called “Dreamers,” have hoped since the program’s inception for a long-term solution.
“For the past 13 years, they’ve been trying to find a solution, but we always hit a dead end,” Silva said. “I’m very thankful for DACA, but it’s not permanent.”
In 2017, President Donald Trump’s first term in office, an attempt to axe the program stalled in the courts. More recently, the Supreme Court kept the program alive but closed off long-term solutions and citizenship paths. In January, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that DACA exceeds executive authority and violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, albeit in limited application, which again kept the door open for a permanent solution.
Republican President Trump has voiced his support for DACA recipients staying in the U.S., noting that most of them are well-contributing residents. The president told NBC News ahead of his 2025 inauguration that he hopes to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to bring an end to the dilemma.
“I want to be able to work something out, and it should’ve been able to be worked out over the last three or four years, and it never got worked out,” Trump said. “I think we can work with the Democrats and work something out.”
Silva’s hope remains, saying even if the program were to fall apart and he were sent back to Mexico, he’d work to gain citizenship through existing legal pathways. But the deputy also claims Mississippi and the U.S. as his home, a place he says has welcomed him in return.
If he had the chance to speak with the president, Silva says he would express gratitude but also take the chance to advocate for a chance to become a legal American.
“I would tell my president, ‘Sir, I love this country. And I pray that there’s something you can fix with DACA so we can become Americans and be an asset to you,’” Silva said. “This country gives us everything we need to live free. No other country does what we do. You work and get paid for what you earn. People born here should be really proud.”
