DACA: Why It Should Stay
Imagine building a meaningful life in a country that brought you more opportunities than the one you were born in. But the education you receive, the job you earn, or the people you love are ripped away from you. You now have to be deported to a country you can barely remember. Chances are most of you reading this will never experience that in your life. So why should you care about the people who do? Well, there are a couple of reasons, and some may surprise you. First, The Trump Administration has decided to repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. While maybe this isn't a surprise, it is important to keep track of what the administration did. This means more than 500,000 people living and working in the U.S. under this program could be deported in the next available term of The Supreme Court of the United States. So what does that mean? Well, the supreme court takes cases on October 1st of every year. This means we will have to see what The Supreme Court will rule. This program has been in effect since August 15, 2012, under the Obama Administration because of the influx of refugee families seeking asylum. Being in effect for so long, this decision of repealing DACA could change a lot more than what's on the surface. DACA should not be abolished because doing so would negatively affect both Dreamers and the United States as a whole.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals has existed for less than nine years but has already faced backlash and risk of ending. On September 5, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that DACA was being terminated. (“Unauthorized”) Jeff Sessions is the Attorney General for the Trump Administration. The Current Administration is not known for being fans of immigrants getting a “free pass”. We all know that “securing the border” and “building the wall” has been a big part of President Trump’s campaign and election. So it makes perfect sense that this would be a priority in fulfilling those promises. And one of the big reasons Republicans give is that DACA was illegal from the start, and it allows far too many people who came to the U.S. illegally to stay. (Telford and Noorani) To understand this, look back at 2012 when DACA was put into action by the Current President at the time, Barack Obama. Obama even stated that it was only a temporary solution, calling it “a temporary stopgap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people.” (Robertson) So if it is temporary, why should it not be repealed? Because simply put, it is being repealed, not replaced, and that is why we are fighting so hard because we would rather have something than nothing. This background information is important to understand both sides of the DACA argument.
DACA’s risk of abolishment does not only affect its participants but also the people of the United States as a whole. Many people don’t realize how many employers in the U.S. rely on hard-working people here because of DACA. According to the Economic Policy Institute, immigrants are strongly represented in some high-wage jobs, and play a significant role in many middle-wage jobs. For example, 22 percent of dental, nursing, and health aides are immigrants, as are 31 percent of computer software developers—well above immigrants’ 16 percent share of the labor force. (Costa “et al.”) So the stereotype of DACA participants and other immigrants not playing a significant role in the U.S. economy and just doing low-wage jobs is simply not true. Even though this study mentions all immigrants, even just the small percent of DACA immigrants losing their job could easily affect the U.S. economy. At a time when the U.S. economy is doing so well, we would not want to jeopardize its success. But taking a look at someone who is a DACA participant is also important to see the other side of the story. Ms. Rojas Marquez is determined to become a physician and help bridge the gap between undocumented immigrants and medical care. She is close to making that dream a reality. (Gallegos) She would never have been able to get this far without DACA but also needs it to continue. Her future and many others like her are in the hands of lawmakers who know very little about their way of life.
Dreamers would not only lose their careers but also their home and way of life. DACA has gone a long way to provide Dreamers some sense of security and stability. However, this sense of security was shaken during the highly controversial 2016 U.S. presidential campaign when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump threatened to terminate DACA and deport the United States' massive population of illegal immigrants. ("Deferred Action”) It’s no secret that when you come to a new country as a kid it was never your choice, and you probably don’t remember the country where you were born. That’s why for many people, the U.S. is the only country and way of life they know. And on top of that, 3.1 million immigrants in 2017 were asylum seekers. (Blizzard and Batalova) Meaning these young kids came here with their families escaping dangerous situations. This can include religious persecution, gang violence, unstable governments, famine, and other problems plaguing third world countries. After all these people have been through, many wonder if throwing them out of the country is the right answer. One example of how DACA is affecting a young individual is Ms. Rojas Marquez. After spending most of her life terrified of deportation, Ms. Rojas Marquez said she is not wasting time worrying about the Supreme Court's decision or whether the president will overturn the policy. She is keeping her studies foremost in her mind and the goal of becoming a doctor firmly in her heart.
This just goes to show that the jeopardy DACA is in can affect people’s work and studies. This gives the advantage to people who will never have to deal with this problem.
Adjusting to a new country that someone only lived in as a kid means it was never home. This has been a big argument for many people regarding deportation. And a valid one at that. Although some argue that these young immigrants should have come here legally, they forget that they were only kids when they first entered the country. According to USCIS data on the DACA population, about 80 percent were born in Mexico, 53 percent were female, and the median age of DACA participants now is 25. (“Unauthorized”) The topic of dreamers’ young age is prevalent in this paper but is the most important part in understanding why they are important to the U.S. This is why it must be handled differently than normal immigration matters. The age of 25 being the median age of dreamers now means that they were young eight years ago. This does not seem to matter to the Trump Administration, acknowledging dreamers as being young workers contributing to American society. They see DACA as another immigration “reform” that needs to be addressed. But the President doesn’t see how he could be emigrating people from their real “homes”?
Many people argue that DACA takes jobs from hard-working Americans who deserve them. Sadly, this is not true and has been a common phenomenon since the U.S. was founded. The U.S. economy has plenty of room for more employees. The evidence shows that in the long run, immigrants do not reduce native employment rates. But some evidence suggests that in the short run, immigration may slightly reduce native employment because the economy takes time to adjust to new immigration. (Costa “et al.”) While this common theory has been debunked, these studies won’t just change people’s minds overnight. Even though DACA’s students are some of the most hard-working people, simply because their lives depend on it. Even one of the largest universities in Chicago recognizes this. Loyola University has accepted more students with DACA status than any other U.S. medical school. The reasons are simple, said Mark Kuczewski, Ph.D., chair of medical education at Loyola's Stritch School of Medicine. "We're in the business of taking outstanding students”. (Gallegos) So these overachieving students, who didn’t even have the option on whether to come to the U.S. or not, still face backlash and accusations of stealing “our jobs”. While it isn’t true, it can affect the integrity of someone who has worked so hard to be where they are today.
Therefore, DACA should not be abolished because doing so would negatively affect both Dreamers and the United States as a whole. The backlash surrounding the “Dream Act” may seem well deserved, especially since it was enacted illegally under the current president at the time, Barack Obama. But it simply ends there. Because doing so would put thousands at risk of losing their education, job, or even loved ones. But to the current Trump Administration, it is seen as another immigration Act by Obama that needs to go. This is all fine until many consider how it will drastically affect people’s lives. Then it doesn’t seem as simple as signing a piece of paper. Not only those who rely on DACA, but also those who work with, for, or employ Dreamers. It can affect the United States economy and people who have become friends with our beloved Dreamers. It is in the name, now all they can do is dream that this will all be over. The time has come for DACA participants to stop living in fear that their lives could drastically change and the life they build could end.
