The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is a gift and a curse. It has brought opportunities to many undocumented children who were brought into the U.S. illegally, without their knowledge of how difficult it would be to be in a different country. Many arrived at an unknown land with their parents in hopes of bringing their children a better life, but with it came hopes and hardships.
Many undocumented children were given the chance to apply for a work permit that authorized them to work in the U.S. legally with the hopes of not being deported temporarily. Although it wasn’t a path to legal status it gave us hope of being able to contribute to their futures and earn an income to help their families.
This program was an answer they had been looking forward to for years after fighting to be given a pathway to citizenship.
DACA has impacted their lives in the best possible way, roughly 832,881 young adults were able to work legally, attend school, and help plan their lives without being afraid of stepping out into the street and being deported. It allowed them to get better jobs with greater benefits and better working conditions, including a raise that helped improve their way of life for their families.
DACA recipients also became a big part of the U.S. economy, helping to increase tax sales which many paid about $5.6 billion in federal taxes and $3.1 billion in state and local taxes each year.
Many DACA recipients made use of this opportunity by attending school, and in 2019, 83% were working towards earning a bachelor’s degree or higher. This program was made to help undocumented children find a piece of comfort during uncertain times.
However, these recipients have been met with difficulties after a judge in Texas ruled DACA to be unlawful. In 2021, Judge Andrew Hanen declared the program had violated the Administrative Procedure Act. This ruling blocked new applicants from continuing and starting their DACA applications, causing them to go into limbo.
An estimated 93,000 were stuck part-way through the process when the judge decided to rule against the program, while 400,000 eligible people are now left out of the program. This ruling became another stepping stone for some conservatives who have been against DACA since the very beginning.
Many undocumented residents were considering applying to college, working or getting a driver’s license, since some other states don’t allow immigrants to take advantage of these opportunities that U.S. citizens get.
The immigration crisis going on at the border has made it more difficult for children of immigrants to get a straight answer to a solution that has been at stake for years.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris has emphasized doing what she can to help protect DACA recipients, but it is not enough reassurance that there will be a permanent solution.
Time after time, immigrants are kept in the dark. DACA applicants were given little hope to move forward with their lives. The more this situation drags on, it feels as if it is being used as a pawn to gain voters on either side of the political parties.
A paper that determines a person’s status should not be what also determines their value to others. No one should ever feel afraid about living in a country that preaches about giving people an opportunity for a better life. Something permanent needs to happen.
People should value each other for their hard work and ethics, instead of their legal status. This election season, as immigration is a key talking point, it’s important to remember the human side of the issue.