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.
I agree, this program has brought about a lot of benefits to immigrants who are trying to start a better life for themselves and their families. In part, I believe that the reason DACA has undergone so much change and is still quite controversial is due to the fact that society is polarized. Just think of how many times immigration has been at the center of political debates! Either way, you believe immigrants shouldn’t be punished. Do you think DACA should still apply to immigrants who are not using the residence in the best way?
I feel like this is such a complex issue and is also one that both parties will essentially never come to a mutual agreement on. I believe that it’s especially important to protect and support children since they are, obviously, not yet adults; they don’t have the same level of understanding as someone who has fully matured. If a five-year-old came into this country, I feel that its our responsibility to make sure that he or she is safe because there’s a precious, innocent life at stake. However, I also feel that America must make sure that it doesn’t exceed the capacity in which it can properly support individuals. Do you think that there should be a limit to how many people can receive DACA applications?
Surprisingly, I had never heard of this program before reading this. This was extremely informative and gave me a really good understanding of the history and purpose of the program. It is a shame that immigration is such a controversial topic at heart because these kids who have no choice to be here could be punished for a choice they didn’t make. Has there been any major repercussions since they stopped accepting applicants?