DREAMs Can't Wait: The Importance of DACA and Current Immigration Policies
- bhunfiltered
- Jul 24, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 14, 2020
One of the most widely debated topics of United States policy is immigration. As a nation built on the backs of Immigrants, those brought forcefully through slavery and those who willfully relocated for a better life, the United States has had its fair share of discussion regarding immigration policies. It was not until the late 1800s, or after the Civil War, that the U.S. planned to make immigration a federal responsibility. Following World War I, the United States experienced a surge of mass immigration, causing Congress to respond with an immigration policy that limited each nationality that entered the country while favoring immigrants from Northwestern Europe. Decades later, in August of 2012, President Barack Obama announced the executive order entitled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which is popularly known as DACA.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, “DACA resulted in renewable two-year grants of protection from deportation-plus work permits and identity documents-for approximately 700,000 illegal aliens who arrived in this country as children.” In other words, children under the age of sixteen are granted privileges to reside in the United States after emigrating from their birth countries with their parents. Most DACA recipients had lived in the United States for virtually their entire lives, many of whom learned English as their primary language and had never returned to the countries they were born in. Having lived in the United States from a young age, DACA recipients have been said to identify themselves as Americans and rely on the DACA program since they have virtually no way to gain legal status in the U.S.
With extensive roadblocks and hurdles between immigrants and U.S. citizenship, additional acts have been proposed to at least ease the process for these DACA recipients and other young immigrants who had no choice but to grow up in the United States. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act, was originally introduced in 2001 and legislators have been attempting to pass it through Congress for the past nineteen years. The American Immigration Council explains that the refined American DREAM and Promise Act of 2019 would, “provide current, former, and future undocumented high-school graduates and GED recipients a three-step pathway to U.S. citizenship through college, work, or the armed services.” However, the act still has not passed, leaving DACA recipients questioning their future in America. It is heart-wrenching and morally wrong that these young children could have their years of hard work, education, and even military service discredited when applying for citizenship.
To make matters worse, President Trump is adamant about limiting legal immigration, tripling the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE agents, and building his infamous wall between the United States and Mexico to send a clear message about his malicious views regarding U.S. immigration policy. On September 5, 2017, President Trump ordered an end to the DACA program, meaning that over time, 800,000 young adults who entered the U.S. as children would become eligible for deportation. This would prove to be extremely problematic and traumatizing for DREAMers who have spent the majority of their lives on U.S. soil. These individuals would be stripped of their identity and sent to start over in a country they may have never remembered living in before.
Fortunately, the Supreme Court blocked Trump’s proposal to end DACA in June of 2020, giving hope to the DREAMers who are able to continue to reside in the United States and positively contribute to society. Despite Trump’s extremely hurtful and disgusting depiction of immigrants as drug dealers and rapists, DACA recipients have much to contribute to the United States. DACA itself has proven to be extremely successful for both the recipients and the United States considering that in 2017, about 91% of DACA respondents were employed with 72% pursuing a bachelor’s degree or higher. These statistics and the other numerous positive impacts DACA recipients have on the United States make it difficult, if not impossible, to understand the logical push to end the program. While the 5-4 vote to block Trump’s proposal was a celebratory moment, it is likely that the President will refile paperwork to end DACA, contributing additional anxiety to DREAMers whose life in the United States could be taken from them on any upcoming day.
To further push his malevolent agenda, President Trump has signed an order that will target undocumented immigrants in the U.S. census. Undocumented immigrants have been encouraged to fill out the census in order to increase funding for schools, roads, and other projects in communities in need. However, adding a question on the U.S. Census regarding citizenship will deter these immigrants from filling out the Census and acquiring necessary funding. If undocumented immigrants do not feel comfortable filling out the Census in fear of exposing their illegal status, the balance of power in states and the House of Representatives, which is based on total population, will be negatively impacted. Michael Li, who serves as senior counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program summarizes the argument against this Presidential order perfectly when stating, “The Constitution requires counting everyone- children, immigrants, everyone- it doesn’t have exclusions based on legal status.” Requiring individuals to specify the terms on which they came to the United States is unjust and will contribute to the unequal representation that exists in our country. While President Trump continues to attack immigrants through his proposals, organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union are working to fight this particular order while defending and preserving the rights of every individual in this country.
While some of our Unfiltered members are direct products of immigration and are first generation American-born citizens, none of us are DACA recipients. Therefore, we cannot give first hand experiences of being undocumented immigrants and DREAMers in the United States. Instead, we highly recommend you take the time to watch Brown University student Javier A. Juarez’s Ted Talk where he shares his experience immigrating from Peru and growing up in Rhode Island: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxWCW7qRjhg. Trump’s plan to end DACA directly impacted Juarez, putting a time clock on his life in America and the lives of hundreds of thousands of DREAMers across the country.
Imagine constantly having to live your life in fear that in a minute, hour, or day you could be told to drop everything and relocate, leaving behind your friends, family, and established life. Why should the life clock of DREAMers constantly tick while the rest of our clocks remain stagnant? We must’ve just gotten “lucky” to have a broken clock in a broken system.
More on DACA, the DREAM Act, and immigration policies:
*This list is not at all comprehensive, we encourage you to look into more detailed accounts, articles & videos*
DACA Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxWCW7qRjhg
ACLU donations & additional information regarding Immigration and human rights issues:
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