DACA!

DACA is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, it was the policy established in June of 2012 by former President Barack Obama. The policy was created to protect its applicants, commonly referred to as Dreamers, and to allow them to legally obtain jobs, apply to colleges, as well as obtain legal US identification.

To apply for DACA you must be the child of an immigrant who was brought to the United States while under the age of 16 and are currently under the age of 31. Some common misconceptions about Dreamers are that because DACA allows them to legally attend college, obtain jobs and US identification, Dreamers are legal citizens of the United States. This is false. In fact, the course to obtain citizenship through DACA was never really made clear to the Dreamers. The second most common misconception about Dreamers is that Dreamers receive many benefits when they apply for DACA but never contribute the country. Again, this is false. Because Dreamers can legally apply for and obtain jobs in the United States, they pay taxes, just as a citizen would, that benefit their community as well as the country as a whole. Dreamers benefit the United States economy by raising the United States’ annual GDP by $22.7 billion in just a year and $281 billion over the course of ten years.

The DACA policy was put into action in June of 2012 by former President Barack Obama and has helped approximately 800,000 people but in September of 2017 President Donald Trump called for a rescind on DACA. The rescind will affect not only the recipients of DACA but also their families, the economy, and the job market as a whole. During President Trump’s Presidential campaign there was a constant promise of a rescind on DACA but after being elected his opinions seemed to waver when he took to Twitter to say, “Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!” After pressure was applied to the President in late 2017 for an update on DACA President Trump announced what everyone feared, a rescind on the policy. The Trump administration has promised to handle the situation with “minimum disruption” and that they will continue to honor permits and work visas until they expire. Currently, new applications are no longer being accepted past September 5th of 2017 and application renewals received by October 5th, 2017 will be processed, unfortunately anything after these dates will not be accepted and Dreamers’ fates will be left up in the air.

Now is the time to use our voices to speak for those who don’t have a voice or even feel like they don’t have a voice. So, what can you do to help Dreamers and the policy as a whole? Talk. Call your local Congressmen and women at 1-888-778-6856 and demand a Clean Dream Act. Tweet at Speaker Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) or at Senator Mitch McConnell (@SenateMajLdr) and demand a Clean Dream Act. Text DREAMACTNOW to 877877 to join the movement. Walkouts are being held around the nation to demand a Dream act. We have until December 2017 to pass a Clean Dream Act, now is the time. Go.