The world was in a state of shock when the results of the 2016 United States presidential election were announced. Donald Trump becoming president was a win that was not expected by many people, and was mostly, not celebrated. However, when putting political ideals and views aside, we can all agree on one thing, many different groups of people were going to be directly affected by the Trump administration going into office. Among those people were the DREAMers, the recipients DACA. The Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals, most commonly known as DACA, is a law that protects undocumented youth that came to the United States when they were children from deportation and grants them access to a work permit (“What is DACA?”). Right now, with the Trump administration in office, the future of DACA is unclear, many members of the Republican party, including President Trump, oppose it and are fighting for it to be dissolved. Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) should not be terminated as the immigrants protected under DACA would lose their opportunity to get a better education, a job, would get deported, and the United States economy would weaken.
Young illegal immigrants who are recipients of DACA are granted the opportunity to receive a better education. It is estimated that each year, around 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school in the United States (Malik). Alike many of their peers, these students also have the wish to go to college or university, receive a higher education, and pursue their dreams. However, they are, more often than not, faced with the struggles of not having enough financial support to do so. As a result of not having a legal status, they are not allowed to ask for financial or state aid, and this leads to them having low paying jobs that barely pay for their basic necessities. With DACA, students are given a Social Security number, which allows them to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as FAFSA (Financial Aid). Being able to receive some type of help when paying for school relieves a large amount of stress among DACA students. A prime example of DACA benefitting young minds in outstanding ways is Jin K. Park, as he has become the first DACA recipient to receive the Rhodes Scholarship, this opportunity will allow him to study at Oxford University (Willingham). An accomplishment not many others can say they have achieved. Along with the educational opportunities, DACA should not be erased as it allows for undocumented youth to receive higher paying jobs.
One of the biggest benefits given by the DACA program is a work permit, it allows for recipients to be legally authorized to work in the United States. A common misconception about DACA and the Social Security number it provides is that immigrants will be able to receive retirement benefits along with their work permit and they will not have to pay taxes. The truth is that everybody pays taxes, even illegal immigrants without DACA. Recipients of DACA will not receive retirement benefits, they are allowed to have a retirement fund just like other employees, but after the age of 65, the government will not be giving them monthly payments (Merlo). However, the pros most definitely outweigh the cons; having the chance to work a legal job will allow for the beneficiaries to save money, make a higher salary, and it gives them a security that is not often had with other forms of employment. In different job settings, undocumented youth is subject to being fired at a moments notice and without cause. For example, in a recent case, an illegal immigrant was injured in his Tennessee workplace and was shortly fired after the incident without receiving compensation (Photopulos and Johnson). With DACA this injustice would not happen, as the recipients are protected under federal law. Being beneficiaries of the DACA program also protects from the biggest fear of all, deportation.
Being safe from deportation is the biggest benefit granted by DACA. As of September 4, 2017, there are 689,800 active DACA recipients (Robertson). Every single one of these people had absolutely no say in coming to the United States, they were children, unable to choose for themselves. For them, this country is their home, they know nothing else. Although their legal paperwork may say something different, they are American and they have been for most, if not all, of their lives. The fear of being deported is the most terrifying thing to them, they are scared of being sent to a country they have not set foot on for a long time. DACA is a godsend to them, finally, they are able to live and work the same way their peers and colleagues do, as they do not have to watch over their shoulders every five seconds to see if they are being deported to a foreign land. In early January of 2018, father of two and Detroit resident Jorge Garcia was deported to Mexico after living in the United States for over 3 decades, he arrived here at the of 10 (Gamboa). Had he been a beneficiary of DACA, his chances of being deported would have been significantly smaller, and his children would not have suffered such a traumatic loss. Without DACA, many more heartbreaking cases like these would occur, and the economy of the country would weaken, which is why the program has to remain active.
As a result of Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals, the United States has seen promising economic results. A big part of living the American dream is being able to purchase a car, a house, own a business; these dreams are made possible with DACA. Not only do the DREAMers benefit from this, but the nation does as well. Making large and life-changing purchases that were out of reach for many immigrants before this monumental program increase state revenue in forms of property tax, sales tax, and the rise of insurance purchases. These boosts in the state economy, in turn, benefit the entire country financially as well. The Center for American Progress said, “ DACA beneficiaries will contribute $460.3 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product over the next decade—economic growth that would be lost were DACA to be eliminated.” (Wong et al.). The Trump administration has expressed their distaste for not only the DREAMers, but all illegal immigrants alike. However, they do not hesitate to reap the benefits immigrants and their “anchor babies” provide to the country. The National Immigration Forum published an article that states, “ Between now and 2035, all growth in the U.S. workforce will be entirely due to immigrants and their children. As it grows, the number of jobs will expand at all skill levels.” Most people who have lived in the United States their entire lives have not lived in a nation without a large population of immigrants. If immigrants were to be deported the country would face dire economic consequences that have never been experienced before. In order to not experience a devastating economic recession, DACA should not be repealed.
DACA is a program that protects young illegal immigrant from being deported. It also reduces the extraneous amount of psychological distress placed upon undocumented youth, as they do not have to be paranoid and overly cautious when it comes to deportation, financing their education, and finding a decent and safe workplace. It is a program that greatly benefits the United States in both the economic and educational aspects of the nation. DACA should not, under any circumstances, be dissolved as it would have catastrophic effects on hundreds of thousands of lives. Many recognize it as the first step towards the fight for legal citizenship. Citizenship to a country that they love and has been their home for decades. Hopefully, in the future, DACA becomes a program that aids undocumented youth in becoming citizens of the United States.