On September 5th, the Trump administration decided to end Deferred Action for Child Arrivals, or DACA. DACA is a program enacted in 2012 by the Obama Administration through executive order. The program allows undocumented immigrants who were brought into the country as children to apply for permission to study and work in the United States. DACA recipients, often referred to as DREAMers, receive temporary deferred action on deportation, and their status is renewable every two years. Those that are a part of the program must have arrived in the United States prior to turning 16, have lived in the US continuously since June 15, 2007, and must have been under the age of 31 when the program started in 2012. Applicants had to be either enrolled in school or the armed forces, or have completed high school or have their GED. They also had to have relatively clean criminal records and not pose a security threat to public safety.
According to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, currently there are approximately 800,000 DACA recipients.These people were raised for much of their lives in the United States, in fact, according to a survey conducted by the Center For American Progress in 2017, nearly half of DACA recipients arrived before age six. Most of us cannot even remember life before age seven, according to this study.
Claims that DREAMers have taken American jobs are false; immigrants documented and undocumented alike not only bolster the US economy, but enrich the country with their unique cultural perspectives and personalities. Undocumented immigrants are people too, not just a commodity.
If Congress doesn’t come up with a replacement plan, DACA will be phased out over the next six months. No new applications will be accepted; those whose permits expire before March 2018 will have to apply for renewal by October 5th. As of right now, it is still unclear what all this will mean for current DACA recipients.
In the meantime, there are plenty of ways for you to help DREAMers.
First, you should contact legislators. Call your senators and let them know you support the DREAM Act, which you can read here. This act has a lot of the same protections as DACA and would give undocumented immigrants that qualify a path to citizenship. Call your representative and let them know you support the RAC Act, the Hope Act and/or the BRIDGE Act. Check out this NPR article to find out for about these proposed acts. You can also cal state legislators; 15 states and D.C. have already filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, and you can ask your state legislators to do the same and/or to provide protection for undocumented immigrants.
If you’re interested in protesting, you can search for events in your area here. There are also organizations in the local area, and Cornell has an organization called the DREAM Team that you can get involved with. They’re having an event to defend undocumented immigrants and give information about what you can do to help from 12 PM – 2 PM Friday, September 8.
National organizations including, but not limited to MALDEF, Immigrant Defense, National Immigration Law Center, Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, United We Dream, Border Angels, Immigrant Defense Project, and Families for Freedom look for donations to help them fight for immigrants rights. Certain groups look for volunteers with legal knowledge or those fluent in Spanish that can serve as interpreters.
If you’re a busy college student with little time on your hands, at the least, try to stay informed on these issues. Follow immigrant’s rights organizations on social media to get up-to-date information on little ways you can help. Don’t forget to VOTE at every opportunity you have. You’re never too busy to get out and vote for what’s important and what you believe in. Don’t skip out on little elections, and definitely get out and vote in the 2018 midterm elections. If you’re not registered to vote yet, register NOW – don’t wait. In 34 states you can register online, so there’s no excuse.
Sitting back and being upset over the end of DACA doesn’t do anyone any good, so take action! Get out there and make change happen. No voice is too small to be heard.