Defending DACA

November 29, 2017 Lindsay Landsberg 1

By LINDSAY LANDSBERG

Freshman Jenna W. thinks that it is wrong for Trump’s administration to be removing DACA.

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants could potentially be deported in the next couple of months if President Trump’s administration decides to discontinue former POTUS Barack Obama’s key policy on immigration, known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Over 700,000 people will be forced to uproot their United States lives and move back to the foreign countries from which their parents brought them.

DACA has provided protection for nearly 800,000 young people from being deported who were brought to the United States illegally as young children. These immigrants are often referred to as “dreamers” and have been allowed to acquire work permits, obtain an education, and even receive a driver’s license. Freshman Jenna W. said, “I think it’s very unfair to the people being affected by DACA, and I don’t think this is something Trump should be doing.”

Freshman Richard R. thinks that people being affected by DACA should not be deported since they’ve lived in the United States for most of their lives.

The Trump administration has decided that DACA was an abuse of Barack Obama’s executive power. President Trump stated that Congress will ultimately decide the fate of these “dreamers.” In his claims, he emphasized that Congress has six months to act before work permits start getting revoked. In response to this issue, freshman Richard R. said, “I don’t see any downside to having these kids who were immigrants stay in our country because it’s basically all they’ve known.” Science teacher Mr. Smith said, “Removing the DACA program would be unfair because the children who were brought here didn’t have a choice in the matter.”

Some conservatives have expressed anger that the program has taken so long to repeal thereby resulting in many immigrants to possibly being protected until October 2019. Lawmakers are proposing a new bipartisan action that has the potential to protect “dreamers” from deportation. Also, a few Republicans from the Senate have offered a proposal named to protect DACA recipients.

It is unclear right now exactly what new initiative, if any, will be passed. Regardless, the power is now out of President Trump’s hands, and only Congress will be able to help these immigrants.

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