Depending perhaps on the kind of people you hang out with and follow on social media, you’ve likely at least heard peripherally about the recent uproar regarding Trump and DACA. However, if you’re like a lot of Americans out there, you may not know exactly what DACA is, or conversely, what the Trump administration itself is doing to it. Considering how lackluster a lot of American history education is and how difficult it can be to teach yourself about current events, there’s no shame in not being fully up-to-date. But because of the dire situation many of our compatriots may now find themselves in, familiarizing yourself with the basics of this issue is the only responsible first step.
1. What is DACA?
Well, let’s start out with what DACA stands for: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Basically, in 2012 under Obama, DACA was founded as an attempt to help remedy the precarious state many undocumented immigrants who moved to America as minors existed in. In layman’s terms, it’s for the children of undocumented immigrants. Some people want to deport these individuals (some are now adults) and others want to allow them to stay. DACA does basically the following: provides these individuals with a deferred action from deportation that can be renewed every two years, and eligibility for work permits, higher education, and driver’s licenses. Oh, and FYI, DACA is pronounced "dah-cah," not spelled out. Just in case you plan on bringing it up at family dinner.
2. What is a “Dreamer?”
You may have also been hearing this word thrown around here and there lately. Dreamers are exactly the individuals discussed above. They were brought here as children (specifically under 16 upon arrival, and under 30 upon enacting DACA), and the fact of the matter is, most Dreamers know only the U.S. as their home. This term is based on a previous attempt at something like DACA called The DREAM Act, although it was introduced all the way back in 2001 and never passed. There are nearly 800 thousand Dreamers that have been approved for DACA. Common countries Dreamers hail from include Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
3. Why are illegal immigrants benefiting from a system they don’t contribute to?
This is a prevailing misconception about Dreamers. Under DACA, they’re not granted any permanent residence or citizenship, and are ineligible for things like the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, or financial aid for school. In fact, they’re the only immigrants with Deferred Action who are ineligible for ACA coverage. Furthermore, DACA kids do pay taxes. Undocumented immigrants contribute nearly $12 billion a year, and are likelier to have higher paying jobs once enrolled in DACA, the losses of which would no doubt hurt the economy.
4. So what is Trump going to do?
On Tuesday, September 5th, Trump’s administration announced they would be rescinding DACA. This was somewhat expected, but the reality still hit the public hard. Almost 8 out of 10 voters support DACA, and Dreamers are known to be the immigrant group most sympathetic to Congress. However, it’s not as simple as it sounds (of course). In short, it’s Congress who will end up making the final call. They’ve been given six months to, well, basically fill in the gaps, before any currently enrolled Dreamers are outright affected. New applicants will no longer be accepted into DACA, but renewal applicants will be accepted for the next month.
5. Where to go from here?
Everything in this article covers only the basics. There’s still so much more to learn about Dreamers and the continuing progress of what Congress is going to do to handle the situation. Of course, there’s a possibility that they could propose a measure to prevent eventual deportation of Dreamers, but the unfortunate truth is Congress has rarely been able to agree on this issue. DACA didn’t even provide its recipients with permanent residence or a path to citizenship, something it was highly criticized for. If Congress doesn’t step up, which is a definite possibility, hundreds of thousands of people--many of which don't even remember the countries their parents are from--will be deported.
6. How can I help?
The most obvious thing you can do is call your local representatives and tell them why they need to pass a measure protecting Dreamers. Don’t be afraid to cite the economic disadvantages to losing all of these people! Politicians love economic advantages! They also love having your vote, though, so definitely mention that as well. An app called Stance does a great job of simplifying the process by finding your representatives and recording your message to continually send. Another way to get involved simplistically is to text RESIST to the number 50409. It’s a bot that will ask you a few questions, then send a message of your choice as a fax to your senators, which it finds for you. There are plenty of other ways to get involved as well, like going to protests and signing petitions. Do some googling!
What you should take away from this above all else is that these are our neighbors, our friends, our fellow countrymen in almost everything but on paper, and if our politicians sit back or argue each other out of a solution, these individuals who call America their home, will be kicked out. Some of these people have children of their own. It’s up to all of us now to actually get involved, get the attention of our representatives, and turn this around before it reaches its disastrous conclusion.
