Ever heard of a Dreamer? Dreamers are young individuals who are American in every form, except on paper. They have been raised in this country and know no other home; they consider themselves to be American, but lack the documents to completely submerge themselves in society. There are close to 800,000 dreamers currently living in the U.S. Dreamers are also referred to as “DACA recipients”. DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals; it’s a program that allows applicants to request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years and is subject to renewal; deferred action does not grant lawful status.
DACA has allowed nearly 800,000 young undocumented people to come out from the shadows, work legally, and continue their lives, without being deported. Nonetheless, the pathway to citizenship is still not provided under the DACA program. DACA was created through an executive order by former President Barack Obama, and now President Donald Trump has the authority to annul the program at any time. On September 5, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on behalf of President Trump, that DACA would be dismantled. Dreamers should remain as citizens of the U.S.; they are active members in the community, pay taxes, and respect the law.
Without Dreamers, the community will lose the immense talent that these individuals possess. DACA recipients bring a diverse variety of educational and professional backgrounds that enables them to contribute in pivotal ways to the countries workforce. Dreamers attend notable universities and take part in every leading industry. Dreamers are innovators, advocates and doctors. They help meet the goals of their communities and companies; they work hard to drive ambitions forward. Being undocumented doesn’t define Dreamers; they are friends, neighbors, and valued members of the community.
Additionally, Dreamers deserve the path to citizenship having paid taxes for many years. A common misconception is that the program takes valuable resources that only true American citizens deserve. Dreamers aren’t eligible for federal financial aid, Medicaid, Obamacare, welfare, or food stamps. Although DACA recipients have a Social Security number, and will have contributed billions of dollars in taxes towards Social Security after just one decade, these individuals will never actually be able to collect any of the Social Security benefits. It’s evident that Dreamers are contributing more money into the American economy than they are receiving. Lastly, Dreamers are great model citizens who abide by the law.
People claim that the DACA repeal would save lives and protect communities. This implies that DACA leaves the nation subject to crime. Dreamers are actually much less likely to end up in prison indicating lower levels of criminality. To further enforce the fact that Dreamers are proper citizens of this country, applicants must pass a background check in order to be eligible for DACA. DACA can be taken away if an individual is arrested, even without conviction.
Only a fragment of DACA recipients have lost their permits due to criminal or public safety concerns. Why should Dreamers be allowed to live here? Simple: America is as much their home as it is for the native born. Countless have little to no connection to their birth countries, aside from the fact that they happened to have been born there. America is the only home they know, and why shouldn’t it be? These are children and young adults have lived here ever since they could remember, and now willingly contribute to the community, pay taxes, and respect the law.
