RENO — Sergio Rivas, a promising young soccer player drafted by the San Jose Earthquakes in January, strolled past the flashing, jangling slot machines in the lobby of Harrah’s Reno, where he is currently living on the 18th floor.
Rivas might seem to be living the high life were it not for his status as an undocumented immigrant, which has limited his ability to play in Major League Soccer and left him with an uncertain future as a professional player.
As a “Dreamer,” part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, an Obama-era program that meant to protect children who entered the country illegally from deportation, he is allowed to work in the United States legally.