On Tuesday, September 5th, Donald Trump, with little support, made a decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Founded on biased, misleading justifications, Trump placed 800,000 youth in danger of being unemployed, uneducated, deported, and separated from loved ones.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, was an executive order implemented in 2012 by the Obama administration and has successfully promoted the education and employment of dedicated students who were brought to the United States, before becoming 16 years old, by their parents. It allowed students, those with high school diplomas, or military veterans, to work legally, get an education, get a driver’s license, and more, all whilst being protected from the threat of being deported by being eligible for renewable 2 year visas. Dreamers, or DACA beneficiaries, are required to meet certain requirements, pass rigorous background checks, and practically out themselves to the government, all to receive the benefits of DACA. They must prove that they have been living in the United States, were not older than 16 when arriving to this country involuntarily, and provide proof of having received their diploma or grades in order to retain and take advantage of DACA (Catherine E. Shoichet, Susannah Cullinane, Tal Kopan - CNN). Currently 800,000 people benefit from DACA, 50% of which were brought to the US at the age of 6 (Yamiche Alcindor and Sheryl Gay Stolberg - The New York Times). Most DACA beneficiaries don’t call any other country but the U.S. their home because the country they were born in is, often, foreign to them. Former president, Barack Obama, who created and implemented the DACA program, posted to his Facebook account saying, “These Dreamers are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper. They were brought to this country by their parents, sometimes even as infants. They may not know a country besides ours.” Trump’s decision has been deceivingly “justifiable”. First, he has falsely made it seem as if his decision has been largely supported, but in reality many members of his administration, most citizens, and even as much as ¾ of Trump’s following believe rescinding DACA is a mistake (AJ+ media). Contrary to Trump’s statements regarding DACA beneficiaries, these people are not gang members or affiliated with the drug distribution or other criminal activities. Because their actions and criminal record are monitored regularly, anyone who does not meet the required DACA standards is immediately repealed from the program and can no longer receive its benefits. Also, only 0.2% of all 800,000 Dreamers were ever repealed due to criminal activity (Shoichet, Cullinane, Kopan - CNN). Second, they are not a burden to the United State’s economy. 90% of all Dreamers 16 years and older have a job (Vanessa Wong - Buzzfeed) and the majority are also students (AJ+ media). Somehow, there is also this misconception that immigrants are a burden on the United States’s economy, but that is especially false with regards to people protected by DACA. Dreamers earn $19.9 billion, collectively, every year because 91% of all Dreamers are employed (Vanessa Wong - Buzzfeed). Also, Dreamers contribute $1.4 billion to federal taxes, over $1.6 billion to state/local taxes, and represent $16.8 billion dollars in spending power (Vanessa Wong - Buzzfeed). The Buzzfeed article I read specified that the removal of DACA would amount to $215 lost in GDP and would cost the federal government $60 billion in lost revenue over the course of just 10 years. However, that is a modest estimation compared to that made by AJ+ which said the U.S. could lose $400 billion over the course of 10 years (AJ+ media). It’s sad to know that 800,000 people protected by DACA placed their trust and faith in this country, only to possibly feel as if their trust was misplaced. The Department of Homeland Security stated the documents submitted to DACA would remain in the government’s system (Shoichet, Cullinane, Kopan - CNN), meaning they have access to information on where to find 800,000 undocumented individuals. An official from the Department of Homeland Security even stated that the information would be handed over to ICE, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “where there’s a significant law enforcement or national security interest,” (Shoichet, Cullinane, Kopan - CNN), but they did not mention or clarify what would be considered as an “interest” to both law enforcement and national security. Considering Trump tried banning Muslims from entering this country based on false and radical accusations founded on xenophobia, I can’t be certain as to what the DHS means. It is true that Trump tweeted–after seeing the massive disapproval in the form of protesters–saying:
But when thinking about the reality of the situation, Trump’s tweet really means, nothing. Since its proposal in 2001, the Dream Act–a bill proposing conditional residency to high school graduates with clean records and permanent residency to individuals seeking higher education–has not passed through Congress, and yet Trump thinks the best strategy for motivating Congress involves threatening the lives of 800,000 people. Even if Congress did happen to propose some kind of program or bill, there is no way of determining whether or not Trump would approve of and enforce it. Also, at the same time that a plan was to be suggested by Congress and implemented by our government, thousands of people would have been denied the opportunity to benefit from a program like DACA because Trump’s decision on Tuesday made it so that no new applications would be accepted for DACA. There are many ways in which people can assist those affected by the abhorrent rescinding of DACA:
WHAT YOU CAN DO
If you know someone who is currently benefiting from DACA, I would personally recommend mentioning how you support and love them. This is a troubling time filled with uncertainties and just in case your family, friends, or loved ones are stressed or anxious, reassure them that you will always fight to be by their side.
You could also contact your elected officials. Tell them how important DACA is and why they should work to finally pass the Dream Act or at the very least, something very similar to it. Here’s a link to learn how to contact your elected officials
Sign this petition petition to send an automated message to your specific Senators and House Representatives that demonstrates your support for the Dream Act passing, finally, in 2017 Know your rights! For those of you who benefit from DACA or who know of someone who is benefiting from DACA, understand that Dreamers are still protected for the next 6 months (through March 5th of 2018). Here are other things y’all should know:
SEE WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING
For those of y’all who are Dreamers, y’all aren’t alone. It’s easy to focus on those trying to remove y’all from this country because they often scream the loudest, but know that so many people in this country, a majority of this country, supports you and wants to give you the chance to follow your dreams in the United States, your home. So here are a couple of reactions to the decision made on Tuesday:
It is particularly cruel to offer young people the American dream, encourage them to come out of the shadows and trust our government, and then punish them for it. -Mark Zuckerberg
“By definition, DREAMers play by the rules[…]they deserve to stay here[...]In the complaint we filed today, we lay out the significant economic harm DACA repeal will inflict on New York and states all across America, and we show that the effort to unwind this spectacularly successful program has been driven by the president’s personal anti-Mexican, anti-Latino bias[…]This was done not to make us safer, and not to comply with the Constitution. This was done with the discriminatory intent to expel hundreds of thousands of immigrants that today are making America great.” -Eric Schneiderman, Attorney general, New York
“To all the dreamers that are here in this room and the city of Chicago: you are welcome in the city of Chicago. This is your home and you have nothing to worry about[…]Chicago, our schools, our neighborhoods, our city, as it relates to what President Trump said, will be a Trump-free zone. You have nothing to worry about[...]and rest assured, I want you to come to school[…]and pursue your dreams.” -Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emmanuel
“Today and every day, the LGBTQ community stands with Dreamers.” -HRC President Chad Griffin
Stay safe, stand together, and wear your pink beanies proudly. Love y'all, thanks for reading.
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