Trump Repeals DACA, U.S. Reacts

On June 15th, 2012, the secretary of Homeland Security under the Obama administration announced that illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children and who met certain criteria were able to request consideration of deferred action from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It was known as DACA or the Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. It was a program that has shielded thousands, possibly millions, of undocumented immigrants, who were brought here as children, from deportation. The individuals who received deferred action avoided placement in removal proceedings or removal from the United States for a specified period of time and they could also receive employment authorization. DACA was an executive order created by former president Barack Obama which targeted a certain type of people called “DREAMers”, who were undocumented immigrants, brought here as children and seeking a path to citizenship.

DACA was not offered to everyone and was only granted if people met certain criteria. In order to be eligible for inclusion in the program, undocumented immigrants must have come to the United States before their 16th birthday. They must have continuously resided in the United States since 2007 up until the present day. They must also have been under the age of 31 as of June 15th, 2012, and they must have never had lawful immigration status on or before June 12th, 2012. In addition, they must have been currently in school, recently graduated, received a high school diploma or G.E.D., or are an honorably discharged veteran. In addition, they must not have been convicted of any felony or three misdemeanors and they could not pose a threat to national security or public safety. They also must have been physically in the United States on June 15th, 2012, and at the time of making their request for inclusion in the DACA program. At the time of application, they must submit proof of having met all of the above criteria, fill out multiple forms as well as paying the government a $465 fee and scheduling a biometric services appointment.

On September 5th, 2017, President Trump ordered an end to the DACA program, calling it an “amnesty-first approach” and stating that Congress must pass a replacement program within six months. As early as March 2018, officials said that as many as 800,000 people who came to the United States illegally as children and registered in the DACA program are at risk for deportation. The Trump administration has argued that these individuals came to America illegally and are not only breaking the law, but also hurting US Citizens by seizing their jobs and pushing down their wages. President Trump stated he was driven by a concern for “the millions of Americans victimized by this unfair system.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the program had “denied jobs to hundreds of thousands of Americans by allowing those same illegal aliens to take those jobs.” Sessions also referenced former President Obama’s use of executive authority, “There is nothing compassionate about the failure to enforce immigration laws. Enforcing the law saves lives, protects communities and taxpayers, and prevents human suffering. Failure to enforce the laws in the past has put our nation at risk of crime, violence and even terrorism. The compassionate thing is to end the lawlessness, to enforce our laws.” In a tweet on September 6th, President Trump stated, “Congress now has six months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can’t, I will revisit this issue!” The Trump administration has referred several times to President Obama’s use of executive authority to pass DACA as susceptible to legal challenges. However, Trump’s tweet implies that he would be willing to act within his own executive authority if Congress fails to act.

Soon after the administration's announcement, protests broke out in front of the White House and the Justice Department, as well as in cities across the country. Democrats, some Republicans, business executives and activists who were involved in the protests spoke out against the decision to end DACA and were unanimously opposed to the rollback of protections. More than 400 business executives signed a letter to the president and congressional leaders, warning that these immigrants known as “Dreamers” are vital to the economy. Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a tweet that Apple would fight for the dreamers to be “treated as equals.” Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, wrote on his personal page, “It is particularly cruel to offer young people the American dream, encourage them to come out of the shadows and trust our government, and then punish them for it.” Former President Obama referred to the administration's action as “cruel” and “self-defeating.” and went on to say that “to target these young people is wrong – because they have done nothing wrong,”. In another more recent statement he further went on to say, “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.” He also said that“this is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated. It’s about who we are as a people.”