Welcome back to my blog! This post I am going to focus on a pretty specific topic. I’m sure everyone has heard about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA, at some point in recent years. This act allows for the deferral of deportation of children and young adults who do not have legal American citizenship. This program also gives them the ability to legally work. The In this post, I will be going over how this program affects immigrants. I also will review its background and history and highlight how it has been challenged and changed over the years.
Creation and History of the Program
In June of 2012, the Obama Administration created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. It was implemented in August when the USCIS began accepting applications for the program. Since then, more than 832,000 DACA recipients have been able to legally in the United States of America. These minors who were brought to the United States are called “Dreamers”. More than one third of these “Dreamers” came here when they were younger than five years old. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program gives these immigrants a chance to flourish without the threat of deportation.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was first challenged in 2017 by Donald Trump. He called for the program to phase out. The administration’s plan was to end the program as of October 5, 2017. This meant that no new DACA applicants would be accepted in this phase out of the programs. Previous DACA recipients would be somewhat protected. Soon after, the lower court ordered to stop Trump’s termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Trump responded by requesting for a court review of this order which was promptly declined by the Supreme Court. Later, in 2020, the Supreme Court decided that the Trump Administration made the wrong choice in ending the program and officially declared that DACA would remain.
The Department of Homeland Security announced its final ruling on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2021. They decided that no new DACA applicants could apply for the program, and this officially went into effect on October 31, 2022. This rule did not affect immigrants currently affected by the program and would allow for them to renew their status.
DACA recipients should not be faulted for entering America illegally or not having lawful citizenship, as it was not their choice to do so. Since they came to this country as minors. DACA has helped many immigrants to make a better life for themselves.