What began as a temporary program has become the lifeline for hundreds of thousands of undocumented young people in danger of deportation. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is celebrating 11 years of hope and great achievements, along with uncertainty, tough legal battles, and unfulfilled promises. What is the future of this program?
DACA was created on June 15, 2012, by then President Barack Obama. The program provides protection from deportation for certain immigrants who arrived in the country as children, as long as they meet various requirements. It also allows them to work.
The DACA program, which protects nearly 600,000 immigrants, also known as “dreamers,” has been at the center of a legal battle since former President Donald Trump tried to eliminate it in 2017.
Protection and challenges
This year, for the first time since DACA was created, the majority of undocumented high school graduates across the country will not be eligible for this program. This is a serious problem.
According to a revealing study by FWD.us, about 100,000 undocumented students will graduate from high school in 2022. Only a quarter of these young people would be eligible for DACA.
Although DACA offers a work permit and the possibility of having a driver's license, “dreamers” cannot travel outside the country (with rare exceptions) and cannot enter college as in-state students, even if they have lived in North Carolina for many years.
The report adds that about 43,000 “dreamers” graduating from high school this year live in 28 of the states that do not provide in-state tuition for undocumented students. This means that they must pay up to four times more than the rest of their classmates.
What do we gain by denying these young people access to university education?
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DACA’s uncertain future
Almost from its inception, DACA has been challenged in the courts, but this time it faces a greater danger. Federal District Court Judge in Texas, Andrew Hanen, declared DACA illegal for the first time in 2021. The Department of Homeland Security issued formal regulations for DACA in hopes of addressing the alleged legal issues, but on September 13, 2023, Hanen decided that the regulations were not sufficient and once again declared it illegal.
Once again, the future of DACA is expected to be decided in the Supreme Court.
The problem is that without official legislation, the legal claims will continue. Furthermore, the legal precedents created by these judicial rulings are not promising for the program’s future.
Must we wait another 10 years?
Study after study has shown the invaluable contribution of “dreamers.” According to a survey conducted by the University of California San Diego, three out of 10 DACA recipients are students and nearly nine out of 10 are working.
Dreamers pay $5.7 billion in federal taxes and $3.1 billion in state and local taxes annually. It makes no sense to turn our backs on them.
If Congress doesn’t pass immigration reform, most undocumented graduates won’t be able to legally enter the workforce, even if the program were open to new applicants.
Additionally, if states such as North Carolina refuse to pass equal university tuition laws, many undocumented graduates will not be able to train professionally due to prohibitive costs (out-of-state tuition is up to four times more than in-state).
Who benefits from making life more difficult for these young people, who have been raised in the United States and who only know this country as their home? Only unscrupulous politicians who want to capitalize on the fear and xenophobia in order to win votes. Will we allow this to continue?