Lately, news channels have been filled with conversations about President Trump ending DACA. But, what is DACA and why is it worth talking about?
DACA, also known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is a program which provides a level of amnesty to children who came to the United States as undocumented immigrants. Children that are a part of the DACA program, are referred to as “Dreamers”. DACA allows undocumented children to apply for a renewable two-year visa, which gives these Dreamers a chance to work legally in the United States. This program was created under the presidency of Barack Obama, June 2012. To qualify, there have to be certain guidelines that are met including: coming to the United States before your sixteenth birthday, not being convicted of a felony and currently being enrolled in school.
Nearly 800,000 young immigrants who once were an undocumented have been able to live in the United States without the constant fear of deportation because of DACA. However, these children who have been given the opportunity of staying in the United States of America, have become fearful because President Trump discussed terminating DACA at the beginning of his presidential campaign on June 16, 2015.
”I will immediately terminate President Obama’s illegal executive order on immigration, immediately,” President Trump said.
Sept. 5, the Trump administration announced that they will begin the phase out of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Obama posted on Facebook after the announcement by President Trump that the process of removing DACA would begin.
“To target these young people is wrong– because they have done nothing wrong,” Obama said. “It is self-defeating– because they want to start new businesses, staff our labs, serve in our military, and otherwise contribute to the country we love. And it is cruel.”
“It’s a political decision, and a moral question,” Obama wrote. “Whatever concerns or complaints Americans may have about immigration in general, we shouldn’t threaten the future of this group of young people who are here through no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking away anything from the rest of us.”
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/05/politics/obama-full-statement-daca/index.html
