Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a controversial policy for the United States, most often driven by politics. Many citizens are conflicted over the impact DACA has on our immigration laws and how to maintain the dignity of these immigrants who seek a better life for themselves and their children. What is DACA? According to U.S. Immigration:
It is an American Immigration policy launched in 2012 by the Obama administration calling for deferred action for certain undocumented young people who came to the U.S. as children. DACA allows young people who were brought illegally to the United States as children, and who meet several key criteria to be considered for temporary relief from deportation or from being placed in removal proceedings. (usimmigration.org/glossary/daca)
The fundamental issue with the DACA policy is that it does not provide lawful status. If an individual is approved for DACA, it is only valid for two years, and then the individual would need to reapply. Also, this Executive Action implemented by President Obama can be removed any time by an incoming President, such as President Trump. There are several criteria the individual needs to meet to be eligible for DACA. Singer and Svajlenka (2013) outline these criteria:
One must have arrived in the United States before age 16; have continuously resided in the United States without legal status since June 15, 2007; be less than age 31 as of June 15, 2012, and at least age 15 at application; be currently enrolled in school, have graduated high school or obtained a general development certificate, or be an honorably discharged veteran; and have not been convicted of a felony or multiple or serious misdemeanors and not pose a threat to national security or public safety (p. 1).
The DACA program authorizes these individuals to be able to legally work and protects them from deportation.
The scope of DACA, as it pertains to Hispanic children and families, is enormous. DACA is an especially notable issue inside the Hispanic population. According to Singer and Svajlenka (2013), “About “800,000 DACA recipients come from Central America, and of those, 75 percent are born in Mexico” (p. 3). Redden (2017) states, “The number of young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children are estimated at 2 million” (p. 1). The program’s beneficiaries are also overwhelmingly from mixed-status families, meaning some members may be legally residing in the U.S. while others may be undocumented. Many Americans believe the DACA program is costing tax-dollar payers an enormous amount of money, which is far from the truth. Redden’s (2017) study found the following:
“More than 640,000 of DACA recipients are currently employed, and proponents argue their work expands the payroll tax base and increases Social Security and Medicare contributions. They say ending the program would reduce Social Security and Medicare contributions by $24.6 million over a decade” (p. 2).
Another study by CATO Institute and the Center for American Progress supports the same findings of Redden. It states, “Ending DACA and deporting the individuals back to their country will cost the American people $60 billion, and $280 billion reductions in economic growth over the next decade” (as cited in Redden, 2017, p. 2). The reason for this? DACA recipients are better educated and have higher paying jobs than other immigrants.
Equally crucial for one to understand the “scope” of DACA, is understanding the impact of DACA and how it affects the Hispanic immigrants. Marten (2017) stated in the article, “How DACA Affects the Health of America’s Children” that, “DACA is the largest immigration reform in the US since the mid-1980s, but so far there have been almost no credible studies of how it has affected unauthorized immigrants and their families” (p.1). The impact of DACA on Hispanic children and families is massive. As CNN reporters Shoichet, Cullinane, and Kopan (2017) pointed out, “If Congress decides to pass a law that rescinds the DACA program, over 700,000 young undocumented immigrants will lose their protection from deportation” (p. 1). In addition to being deported, they would also lose their jobs, education and any grants or financial aid given to them. According to Shoichet, Cullinane, and Kopan (2017), “As it now stands, DACA allows them the ability to obtain valid driver’s licenses, enroll in college and legally secure jobs and pay income taxes” (p. 2).
The research study by several Universities in the article, “How DACA Affects the Health of America’s Children” has shown how the DACA program has had a positive impact on immigrants’ mental health. DACA children no longer had to fear the deportation of their parents or other family members, which research showed an instant reduction in anxiety for them. This study stated:
“A drop in mental illness for DACA children compared to immigrant children who were not covered under DACA was significant. This drop went from 7.8 percent to 3.3 percent and has been linked to the child’s sense of security and peace of mind once he or she knew their parent(s) were not at risk of deporting” (2017, p.2).
Marrow (2015), an assistant professor of sociology in the School of Arts and Sciences, stated, “DACA has been a rapid, policy-driven infusion of rights that is having enormous positive consequences in the lives of these undocumented children” (as cited in Bambrick, p. 1). Marrow (2015), further states, “It will help them become socially upwardly mobile, which will have a constructive ripple effect for their families and communities” (as cited in Bambrick, p. 1). In light of this, DACA recipients are taking advantage of the existing services designed to assist them. These services include the ability to get a social security number, legally obtain a job, get their driver’s license and eventually buy a car, as well as attend a public college. All these services and benefits help the DACA immigrant obtain a higher status of living and have a stronger sense of belonging.
One question we need to ask is, “Why did the Trump administration decide to end DACA?” Shoichet, Cullinane, and Kopan (2017), report there was ten state attorneys general who put pressure on President Trump to withdraw DACA by September 2017. Their message to Trump:
Rescind DACA, or prepare for a legal challenge from us. The move was praised by groups who advocate for stricter immigration controls, who have long decried DACA as executive overreach and argued it is akin to providing amnesty for lawbreakers” (p. 4).
In the end, both President Trump and President Obama stated it was up to the lawmakers to make the changes to the immigration system, with hopes it would provide stricter immigration enforcement; as well as protect the young immigrants. It appears President Trump is caught between his campaign promise to tighten immigration laws and his compassion for the DACA children. Shear and Davis (2017) stated, “Mr. Trump specifically called on Congress to legalize DACA, something his administration’s officials had declined to do earlier” (p. 2). Shear and Davis (2017) further stated, “President Trump said, “I have a love for these people, and hopefully now Congress will be able to help them and do it properly” (p. 3). Unfortunately, due to politics, Congress has not been able to pass a law on DACA for years, which add to the frustration of the DACA children and families, as well as advocacy groups who are fighting for their rights. As mentioned earlier, the end of DACA and other immigration policy issues pose many potential impacts on families. A research study by several Universities in the article, “How DACA Affects the Health of America’s Children,” stated, “One of the most humane issues is that there are over 4 million children born in the United States by illegal immigrants” (2017, p. 1-2). These children have lived their whole lives in the U.S. and knew nothing else, and so to uproot and deport them would be tragic and inhumane.
Moreover, as we have learned, research studies show how stress from the unknown policy changes of DACA affects immigrant children's development and mental health. At this time, President Trump and the White House are weighing whether or not to end DACA. Krogstad (2017) stated, “President Trump is weighing whether or continue the program or end it. In the past, Trump has said he may create a way for those who have benefited from DACA to stay in the U.S.” (p. 2). Regrettably, DACA never really had backing from Congress and so getting lawmakers to pass a law when they are so divided will be challenging. In an ideal world, Congress would pass a more permanent law, but that is unlikely to happen soon. It will be critical for advocacy groups to continue to raise awareness around the need for DACA children to be granted U.S. citizenship.
The question remains, “What to do with this complex DACA issue?” Many DACA recipients and activist wish there were due process rights for individuals in deportation proceedings. The families who dare to share their stories illustrate the genuine fear that current immigration policies create in the lives of undocumented families and the unnecessary pain that deportation causes. When immigrant children and their families are telling their painful stories, we can hope it will help educate others and decrease how society stereotypes what being “undocumented” looks like. As we have come to learn, research validates the fact that DACA recipients are not a burden to our society, but instead, they provide economic growth to our economy.
As a social worker, it is vital we continue to help raise awareness of the positive impact immigrants bring to our country, and to advocate with different organizations as well as work with legislation to pass a law that will grant DACA children US citizenship. As long as Congress continues not to do their job and make this a political issue instead of civil rights and immigration issue, we will continue to have immigration problems.
What can we do to help DACA recipients? As a social worker, it is essential to know how to improve or create intervention programs for DACA recipients. The first thing to do would be to familiarize oneself with the DACA program and learn precisely what lawmakers and advocacy groups mean when they talk about DACA. It would also be helpful to join up with other organizations, such as the Catholic Migration Services. Many Hispanic immigrants are Catholic, and so the Catholic Church can reach this population through their church services and programs. They often put together different fact sheets that help educate the community about social justice issues, such as DACA. Another way to help improve the DACA program is to get the community involved with one’s Congressman or Senator. It has been found to be very useful to make a phone call, send an email or letter requesting support for the DACA program, and to reemphasize the facts about how DACA children contribute positively to our society. One can also help support their community through different organizations that raise funding for those in need. Many local services are free for those with low income, such as legal and mental health services. Finally, it is essential for one to know their resources in order to help DACA recipients. By understanding and educating oneself on the different local and national resources, one can make a profound difference for those in need, such as our DACA recipients.
One of the primary reasons President Obama implemented DACA was due to these organizations coming together and raising awareness on how these children came to the United States at a very young age with their parents and raised in the U.S. for the past 10 or more years. Many told their traumatic stories of seeing one of their parents or both parents being taken away and deported. They had to be raised by other family members, or by the one parent left behind. As a social worker, it is essential to know the people one is working with, to listen to their stories and provide them the opportunities to tell their stories. This, in turn, will help educate society on the issues DACA immigrants face. It is also critical for social workers to understand how one develops and implements policy in order to help those less fortunate and mistreated. Cummins, Byers, and Pedrick (2011 ) stated, “It is the social work efforts of understanding the current policy, how it impacts those less fortunate and how to go about changing the laws to better serve the underprivileged” (ch 1, p. 8).
These underprivileged are our Hispanic immigrants who are struggling daily to survive in our country and be treated as equal, especially our DACA children who have lived here their whole life. The only thing in their way is Congress not passing a law that grants all DACA children to become U.S. citizens. As a social worker, it is our responsibility to become familiar with different organizations that can help advocate for those less fortunate. Some of these organizations have an excellent reputation for assisting Hispanic immigrants, such as the League of United Latin American Citizens, National Council of La Raza (now UnidosUS) and Chicano/Latin Youth Leadership Project (CLYLP). These organizations help advocate for Hispanic children and families rights, and to help fight to change our immigration laws as well as fight for equal rights. Research by Ngwu (2017), found most DACA recipients are in Latino-centric states, such as California, followed by Texas and then Illinois (p. 1). The CLYLP is an excellent organization to help enhance and develop leadership skills for California’s youth. This organization teaches them about their local and state policies and how to interact with local businesses and political leaders. The more our youth become educated and involved in local policies, the more they will be able to make an impact and help change policies for the better of our country. Hopefully, as our youth become more educated, they can become better-changed agents.
In summary, the overall goal of policy practice in social work is to ensure social and economic justice in the social environment, so everyone has an opportunity to achieve success for themselves and their families. The Hispanic DACA immigrants are requesting this as well, to have the same opportunities for success. This success begins with each one of us by helping to shape policy that provides the same social and economic justice as to others and to become the advocate that is not afraid to stand up for what is right and make a difference.