December 19th, 2017
Hill Krishnan
Research Paper
insert nice ass title here boom
“And just like that, their wings were torn away from them”. Eighty thousand dreamers have had their wings torn, and as the months progress many fear of an unknown future. In September of 2017 the Trump Administration announced the termination of DACA, a program which protected undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States before the age of 16. Trump’s plan is to wind down the program over the course of the next six months in order to not have it end abruptly. However, this gives congress a window of time to save the program before “DACA recipients begin losing their status [on] March 5, 2018”. To repeal DACA is to go against what the United States stands for, it would not only become a huge loss for the country in regards to the economy but it would be stripping away the rights of thousands of working DREAMERS placing them in an unstable position emotionally and physically.
DACA or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, was an immigration policy established by the Obama Administration in June of 2012 that allowed people who were brought to the United States by their parents at a young age to receive a reprieve temporarily. This allowed them the right to get jobs, go to school, and drive while also protecting these young people from deportation. In order to apply, these young people must show that they have a clean criminal record, have to have attended or be attending high school or college or serve in the military. Once they have been accepted, they are able to file for renewal every two years but now with the program coming to halt the final renewal able is set to end sometime in 2019 leaving many of these recipients in a state of uncertainty.
The DREAM Act or the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act was initially introduced in 2001 by Democrat Dick Durbin and Republican Orrin Hatch. This was directed towards alien minors in the United States in order to grant then conditional residency if they met certain qualifications, and then as time progressed and more qualifications were met they would eventually qualify for a permanent residency. The requirements to become a recipient of the DREAM Act would have to meet the following criteria: having “entered the United states under the age of 18; entered four years prior to enactment and has been since been continuously present; …not been convicted of a crime where the term of imprisonment was more than a year, or convicted three or more offenses for which the aggregate sentence was 90 days or more; and …been admitted to an institution of higher education, has graduated or obtained GED, or is currently enrolled in secondary school [or the following programs]. Additionally, anyone who has qualified for DACA would have immediately gotten their conditional residency status since they would already have met their requirements since it overlaps with the requirements to be DACA eligible.
The next step for these recipients or the DREAMers would be to fulfill their permanent residence which would include completing “at least two years of higher education; [completing] at least two years of military service with an honorable discharge; or demonstrate[ing] employment over a total period of three years”. Nevertheless, if one does not meet the requirements listed before then they are able to apply for a “hardship waiver” which is for applicants with disabilities, that are full-time caregivers of minor children or for individuals who it would cause difficulties to their family of citizens. After this lengthy process is over, the DREAMer is able to apply to become a U.S. citizen after five years of being a permanent resident. However, this act has not officially been put into practice because of it could not meet the 60-vote threshold it needed. After this, the act morphed and changed slightly into different versions of the act like the Student Adjustment Act of 2001 which was the more limited version and even going as far as being placed in other related bills like the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 and the following act given the same title in 2007. However, these reforms failed as comprehensive bills as the years progressed until now, it keeps being re-introduced and shifted and as DACA is on the brink of complete termination Congress has to decide again whether the DREAM Act should be enacted.
The current political debate over undocumented immigrants in the United States has largely ignored the plight of undocumented children.. Although not born in the U.S., they have, for the most part, grown up in the U.S. and received much of their primary and secondary school education here. However, without a means to legalize their status, they are seldom able to go on to college and cannot work legally in this country. Moreover, at any time they can be deported to countries they barely know. This wasted talent creates economic and emotional costs on undocumented students themselves and on the U.S. society as a whole. While some states explicitly allow undocumented students to attend college, there are many confusing, gray areas that cloud the college admissions, financial aid and enrollment processes. Moreover, undocumented students cannot legally join their native-born peers in the workforce, where Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate educated workers are needed.
The barriers they face are social, financial and legal. Their unique social position between their parents and their native-born peers places them on the margins of their communities. Therefore, they are often known as the 1.5 generation. Many of them grow up in poverty with all of the associated stresses and dangers. Nearly 40 percent of undocumented children live below the federal poverty level (compared to 17 percent of native born children), while the average income of undocumented immigrant families is 40 percent lower than that of either native-born families or legal immigrant families. Despite the fact that they spend most of their childhood and adolescence in the United States, graduate from U.S. high schools, and are accepted to U.S. colleges and universities, in most states they are required to pay out of-state tuition at public colleges and universities (at more than 140 percent of resident tuition). They also cannot receive federal financial aid for their education, which prohibits them from receiving Pell Grants and participating in federally funded work-study programs. And regardless of their educational attainment, English fluency and years lived in the United States, these young people, like their parents, are legally excluded from the workforce.
Public opinions behind DACA are a vital reason to why it ended and is also the reasons behind the DREAM Act never being implemented as a program. Conservative Republicans, mainly being addressed as Trump supporters in today’s time are mostly against immigration (mainly illegal) and the ties that it has with both the DREAM act and DACA. There is a beliefe that it will encourage more aliens to come into American soil and drop what it known in this group as ‘anchor babies’. About 66% of people who support Trump believe that immigration rivals terrorism coming behind with a lower average of about 65% of voters believing this to be a “very big problem”. These people have a belief that an keeping illegal immigrants will be the basis to encourage more to come and in turn it will reveal itself in an increase in crime, fraud and will cause more competition for jobs in an already fragile economy. It is also argued that the children of immigrants who abused the healthcare and educational systems and paid no taxes or made any contributions towards the betterment of the American economy should not be allowed to have the same benefits as families who have been paying a good portion of their income—willingly or not—in the forms of taxes to the government. Also adding that the Obama Administration only supported the act in hopes to appeal to the large portion of Latino American voters.
America has flourished under the contribution of immigrants. Popular stereotypes about immigrants include the belief that they have high crime rates and are generally uneducated. One survey found that 77 percent of people view immigration as a “problematic”, and 48 percent of people would support the government seeking out and deporting illegal immigrants. On average, immigrants contribute more in taxes than they consume in public benefits, and contributed $50 billion in federal taxes between 1996 and 2003. Immigrants have positively contributed to the US economy and societal growth. US businesses founded by immigrants employed approximately 560,000 workers and generated $63 billion in sales in 2012. More than one-third of US Nobel Prize winners in physiology or medicine between 1901 and 2012 were foreign-born.
A particular notion that adds weight to the argument is that there are studies and research that prove how immigration has helped American workers’ wages and job opportunities. Tshows how immigrants have had a positive outcome to the nation. What Kugler is suggesting is that immigrants aren’t so detrimental to the nation as many perceive them to be, but they actually have helped the economy due to the fact that they seek other jobs that native born do not. This makes sense because for immigrants it’s harder to gain high paying or high-status jobs that native born people can obtain. In other words, it boils down to the fact that this is a very controversial and complex issue that isn’t practical to solve by say yes or no.
The current immigration policy also known as The Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) is very complex. According to the INA, an immigrant's validation into the country is separated into seven categories: Family-Based Immigration, Employment Based-Immigration, Per Country Ceilings, Refugees and Asylees, The Diversity Visa Program, Other Forms of Humanitarian Relief, and U.S. Citizenship. Take Employment Based-Immigration for example. There are two categories: Temporary Visa Classifications and Permanent Immigration. Temporary employment-based visa classifications allow employers to hire and request workers from other countries for specific jobs, but for limited periods. Most temporary workers must work for the employer that requested them and have a limited chance to change jobs. There are more than 20 types of visas for temporary nonimmigrant workers. Once their status expires or if their employment is terminated, they must leave the United States.
Now, Permanent Immigration is very limited. The number of permanent employment-based immigrants is about 140,000 per year. This number includes the immigrants plus their eligible spouses and minor unmarried children, meaning the actual number of employment-based immigrants is less than 140,000 each year. Only those who are considered very skilled and to have exceptional abilities are allowed to come through permanent immigration. This example of the immigration policy shows how the government in a way is allowing immigration, but only to benefit anyone but the immigrants. It’s kind of as if the immigrants are being used due to how they are only allowed to come to work and then must leave once they finish a job for us. Still, even if they do allow some immigrants to come permanently, it’s only if the government believes you are “valuable” enough. This isn’t a fair way of treating human beings; this system causes a feeling that only those who matter or good enough can enter the country. It’s not a justful way of treating people who want to come here and achieve the American Dream.
these are all the ways that documented immigrants arrive here.
It should be taken into consideration how immigrants aren’t so detrimental to the nation as they are believed to be. Immigration bolsters the workforce and adds to the nation’s overall economic activity. Look at the impact on cities that attract the most foreign-born residents. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston are all major immigrant destinations and also economic powerhouses, accounting for roughly one-fifth of the country’s gross domestic product. In New York, immigrants made up 44 percent of the city's workforce in 2011; in and around Los Angeles, they accounted for a third of the economic output in 2007. As proved, immigrants contribute a great amount to the economy due to how they live in major cities or around major cities. A major reason immigrants come to the U.S. is to look for jobs, so by providing jobs for these immigrants it benefits both the nation’s economy and cause a gain in profit for the employer. It’s a beneficial arrangement between immigrants and the nation. They shouldn’t be seen as unproductive individuals who come to ruin the American way of life, but as people who aid in the nation’s growth.
Immigrants tend to contribute more once they learn English and are able to become citizens. Immigrants are twice as likely as native-born Nashville residents to start their own small businesses, according to data compiled by the Partnership for a New American Economy. Again, there is an arrangement between immigrants and the growth of the nation due to the benefits they have to offer due to their intense drive. The policy on immigration was much less extreme as it is now, and the modifications include so many limitations that it has become tougher for immigrants to be able to become citizens or even get inside the states.
DACA itself is not enough for undocumented minors in America. Although it can be renewed every two years this plan is a subset of the DREAM Act, the Act itself can never be replaced. After the Act last failed to pass in 2011, the Obama Administration announced the temporary provision of work authorization for most of the youth who would have been eligible for status under the Act.12 Since the Executive Branch lacks the power to create new visa categories, the Administration acted through the prism of enforcement and created the program. Now for thousands of young undocumented individuals the clock is ticking and though they fear the near future, they stay strong. Conservative ideas and people overseeing the fate of DACA overlook the hard work and drive these immigrants have. In their eyes, the term illegal overshadows what follows after; the United States has flourished under the hands of immigrants and it continues to do so to this day. The title that an immigrant has should be seen as powerful since for many it shows the courage and strength made to step out of lines drawn to seek something better. In the following months to come the fate of these DREAMers will be put in the hands of not only the government but their own peers and most importantly themselves. In order to help the people that work so hard to not only keep themselves stable but their communities as well, people must contact their local representatives and members of Congress. As a unit, we all must stand together and spread the word to help those that live in fear of losing their whole lives. So that even though DACA is steadily coming to its end, the DREAMer’s can still be able to hold onto the possibility of achieving their own dreams.