DACA was created to protect a generation of undocumented adolescent immigrants, know as “Dreamers”. This name comes from a bill named The DREAM Act, “Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors”. This bill would have given anyone who grew up as an undocumented immigrant in the US the opportunity to gain legal status, then, in the long run, allow for them to apply for citizenship. In 2010, this bill fell short of 60 senate votes, but remained popular with the American public and so not all hope for the Dreamers was lost. In 2012, Obama created DACA. “If a person under sixteen came to the US...
DACA was created to protect a generation of undocumented adolescent immigrants, know as “Dreamers”. This name comes from a bill named The DREAM Act, “Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors”. This bill would have given anyone who grew up as an undocumented immigrant in the US the opportunity to gain legal status, then, in the long run, allow for them to apply for citizenship. In 2010, this bill fell short of 60 senate votes, but remained popular with the American public and so not all hope for the Dreamers was lost. In 2012, Obama created DACA. “If a person under sixteen came to the US and were in high school, have a high school diploma or GED, and also no, or a very little, criminal record, they were eligible to apply for DACA”. This “permit” protects the young person from potentially getting deported and allows them to work in the US legally. When DACA first began, almost 800,000 people received this permit. Right from the beginning DACA was able to give these young people a new lease on life and could make their dreams, goals and ambitions a reality. A DACA survey showed that 69% of its recipients were able to work in a job and earn better pay, 61% opened their first bank account, and 65% could afford to buy their own first car. DACA also allowed for 65% of its recipients to gain more educational opportunities which they previously were not offered. Do these figures not show that DACA was one of the best, if not the best, programs ever to be created for immigrants? People who at one point feared they would never be able to walk the streets of their own town were now able to have their own full-time job and actually gain a quality education which would allow for them to take care of not only themselves but also their families.
