Running head: A THOROUGH REVIEW OF DACA 1

A Comprehensive Insight into the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals DACA

Georgina Sepulveda

University of Texas at El Paso

A THOROUGH REVIEW OF DACA 2

Abstract

The Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals, i.e. DACA, was brought into legislation in

2012 by President Obama by the end of his first term. DACA is the 2-year protection from

deportation, and allows the eligibility of being able to work under a work permit. Immigrants

could not have a criminal past, be enrolled in a school or university, and serve in the United

States military in order to qualify for the protection of the U.S. legislative program DACA. With

the current President elect Donald J. Trump, the future of the DACA participants is uncertain,

due to the president wanting to end the program, with the beliefs of having a safer community,

and more employment for the citizens of the U.S. Participants of the DACA program are in

jeopardy of being deported back to their home land if this program doesnt continue to provide

the protection for the immigrants.

In current news, DACA is a popular topic amongst the discussions within the three branches of

government. Many know, or can relate, that DACA has to do with conversations in the realm of

illegal immigrant status

A THOROUGH REVIEW OF DACA 3

In current news, DACA is a popular topic amongst the discussions within the three

branches of government. Many know, or can relate, that DACA has to do with conversations in

the realm of illegal immigrant status. The ironic factor in this popular legislation is that most of

the American public only knows about what is said about DACA in the news; a small number of

citizens actually know that proven facts of DACA, its benefits/ downfalls as it pertains to the US,

and what are the personal agendas of lawmakers who wish to save it versus those who wish to

repeal/ replace this law with some more sufficient legislation. In this narrative, these are the

concerns/ issues we shall address:

1. What is DACA, and its comprehensive purpose?

2. What are the constructive aspects of DACA, as it pertains to the USAs best

interests, versus the down falls if this legislation is dismantled and removed from

law?

3. What is the rationale from those who seek to protect DACA, and what is the

objective of those who wish to repeal it?

The goal is to fully comprehend the legislation DACA, how the US both gains, and loses, from

it, and the particular reasoning behind those who defend DACA against those who strive to

dismantle it.

What is DACA, and its comprehensive purpose?

As popular as DACA is amongst the media and US politics, minimal amounts of US

citizens fully comprehend this legislation and how it applies to individuals with this citizenship
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status. What is DACA, and its comprehensive purpose? This legislation, i.e. DACA, was

brought into existence on June 15, 2012 by former President Barack Obama. This program was

passed for the protection of illegal immigrants ages 6- younger than 30, from being deported for

their citizenship status, and allowed the young adults to be enrolled in a high school, university,

vocational school, or serving our nation in the United States Armed forces. Immigrants could not

have a criminal background consisting of being convicted felons, having misdemeanors, or be a

threat of any kind to society (Georgetown Law Library, 2017). The introduction of the DREAM

Act had been introduced by a democrat, Dick Durbin, and a republican, Orrin Hatch in 2001, this

would have been for the assistance of the DREAMERS, i.e. Development, Relief, and Education

for Alien Minors Act. This act would have been to benefit illegal aliens in applying for residency,

leading to being a permanent resident, this would be considered by the age the illegal alien

entered the US and how long they have been residing in the US as well. Similar to the DACA

program applicants for the DREAM Act would have to pass a regulatory background check to

make sure there were no criminal charges in the immigrants past, if they have graduated from

high school or received their GED, and conducted good moral character. No matter the changes

made to help the DREAM Act pass, it was never passed through the Senate, and the legislation

had lost support from Congressional republicans. Many republicans had begun to believe that the

protection of these young children was an act to protect children from a past that they had no

control of, and would allow young children to be able to travel into the US undocumented and

illegally which would cause a conflict of security. With the multiple failures to passing this

legislation, in 2012 after making multiple changes to the act the DACA program was finalized

and passed.
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As with any enacted legislation, there are intended goals to strive for: with DACA,

President Obama, along with bipartisan lawmaker support, had an intended purpose for this

legislation and its accompanying constituents. One of DACAs main intensions is to aide young

Hispanic individuals, who are in this country illegally at no fault of their own, to have a future.

DACA helps sustain this purpose by raising the probability that these undocumented youths will

remain in the country by providing them with routes to pursue educational, and vocational

opportunities. As per the visual, (Figure 1, a student who has benefited from DACA speaks.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst), this would instill a

sense of hope and motivation for the

undocumented youth, encouraging them to

continue their education to pursue their dreams of

being highly educated, and accomplishing the

unknown not fearing the rejection of social

networking. The lack of occupational options, and familial obligations would become a huge

barrier for these well-educated immigrants, and would continue to be a barrier that needs to be

overcome when searching for employment. Many employers would look at the Latino students

as nothing other than being an undocumented immigrant that is not sufficient to be employed by

ones company, and that would result in the limiting the nature of their legal status, looking

beyond the career aspiration of the personal and vocational contributions towards the Latino

college educated students and their psychological development (Lyon, 2015, p. 9-10). The

challenges that arise through the higher educational population of immigrants has continued to

decrease as many employers are now seeking employees to be bilingual, and capable of being

able to overcome the developmental challenges that may arise after becoming employed in a
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corporate field. There has been a significant growth in the population with the documented and

undocumented populations, many students have become eligible for the grants that are offered to

solely illegal immigrants, and has improved the number of students attending collegiate

institutes.

What are the constructive aspects of DACA, as it pertains to the USAs best interests,

versus the down falls if this legislation is dismantled and removed from law?

DACAs legislative policies, mandates, and stipulations have had various effects to the

nation. Even with bipartisan support and DACAs foundation being molded around US values,

this legislation has been seen as beneficial to the country, and there are factors that illustrate

negative outcomes with DACA. What are the constructive aspects of DACA, as it pertains to the

USAs best interests, versus the down falls if this legislation is dismantled and removed from

law? There could be a huge ecumenical impact on many states especially the bordering states

like California, Texas, and North Carolina, the loss could from the low billions to the high

billions of dollars for the loss of the DACA workers. The ending of the program would only in

tale that an estimated 30,000 immigrants would lose their work permits as the expiration of their

visas would soon expire (Schoen, J, 2017). The loss of visas would result in deportation, and

there would be a zero chance of returning to the US, with or without a criminal past or

educational background. It has been stated through both parties democratic and republican

parties that undocumented immigrants already living in the US should be allowed to continue to

work and live in the US as usual, not having to worry about being deported. In the next 10 years,

young DACA participants would have contributed to the nation in the amount of $433.4 billion

(Paul, C, 2017). Being allowed to reach and achieve their full potential, illegal immigrants would

be allowed to become Americans, and assisting the current citizens to contribute to having a
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brighter future, all of which would allow f or our economy to continue to grow without the loss

of the fellow immigrants and their loved ones. It is a lot more sufficient to have a population that

will assist in increasing the economic needs of the citizens instead of losing all of the money that

would be lost if the program was not passed, keeping immigrants safe and liable to work for

what they truly have in a profession that is liked or loved by immigrants, and have worked so

hard to achieve.

What is the rationale from those who seek to protect DACA, and what is the objective of

those who wish to repeal it?

As mentioned above, DACA presents with both down falls and constructive aspects.

There are lawmakers who realize these positive aspects of DACA, and they strive a great deal of

their efforts to protect, and sustain, this legislation. On the other hand, there are those who

contribute to the opposition of DACA and contribute all their focus on repealing this legislation

to lead way for something more proficient in their opinion. What is the rationale from those who

seek to protect DACA, and what is the objective of those who wish to repeal it? Those in favor

of the repeal of the DACA program are Senator Graham of South Carolina (R), and

Representative Hurd from Texas (D), continuing to be bipartisan the undocumented Latino youth

would be capable of pursuing an education, being eligible to receive a drivers license, along

with being able to apply and receive scholarships, job training, financial aid for college and

grants. It would provide the youth with the protection from deportation, and safety from which

problems that were not of any fault of their own (Bier, D, 2017). The immigrants would be able

to apply for positions in the FBI and Armed Forces, have greater open possibilities for their

futures, and have their own American Dream to pursue. The freedom of not having to worry

about how one will be paying for schools tuition, also the sense of being vulnerable, and
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targeted leading to but not limited to being mistreated (Huber, L, 2015, pg 119). Many

Americans had a sense that their jobs were being taken from them by immigrants whether it be in

the fields picking cotton, to being a civil engineer, just by being educated Americans felt

threatened that they would never be able to locate any type of employment again and blamed the

immigrants as a whole. The repeal was also seen to be a way of keeping the citizens safe from

harms way, believing that immigrants were dangerous and capable of harming Americans due to

their citizenship. In total confidence many believed that there would be a beneficial protection

for DACA participants as well, meaning that immigrants would have to pay more in taxes than

they would make in a lifetime. DACA recipients are not eligible for any type of governmental

assistance such as food stamps, TANF cash assistance, Medicaid, or any other tax credits, which

would be a benefit to the US as far as saving money for the nation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we have performed a comprehensive review of the DACA legislation. First

off, we explored the background, and history, of DACA, and we understood the intended

purpose, and long-term goals, DACA was created to provide. While remaining neutral, we then

viewed the legislation on two fronts. Primarily, we discussed the negative impacts DACA would

have on the nations economy, and we viewed how DACA is currently aiding our economy. In

addition, we reviewed the current stipulations of DACA and how it aides undocumented

Hispanic youths. Next, we incorporated the rationale of those who wish DACA to survive

regarding how they see the legislation benefits young illegal immigrants. Lastly, we delved into

the subjective, and objective, opinions of those who wish to repeal DACA and replace with their

innovations. By viewing DACAs history, current policies, and proposed ideas/ innovations, we
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get a thorough understanding of the legislations definition, reason for existence, and advantages/

disadvantages.
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References

Bier, D. (2017). Five myths about daca. The Washington Post. Retrieved, October 24, 2017,

from:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about

daca/2017/09/07/e444675a-930c-11e7-8754

d478688d23b4_story.html?utm_term=.51f093b0c910

Georgetown Law Library. (2017). Deferred action for childhood arrivals (daca). A Brief History

of Civil Rights in the United States. Retrieved, October 23, 2017, from:

guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=592919&p=4170929

Prez Huber, L. (2015). (Its like a golden cage): The impact of daca and the california dream act

on undocumented chicanas/latinas. Chicana/o Latina/o Law Review, 33(1), 90

128.

Lyon, T. D. (2015). Undocumented latino college students and identity development: A

qualitative analysis of undocumented latino college students movement

towards developing purpose. Masters Theses, 761, 1-104.

Penichet-Paul, C. (2017). Dream act of 2017 bill summary. National Immigration Forum.

Retrieved, October 24, 2017, from:

http://immigrationforum.org/blog/dream-act-of-2017-bill-summary/?

gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpay70OCI1wIVV1mGCh1oLQaTEAAYASAAEgJzePD_BwE

Schoen, J. W. (2017). US gdp would take a hit from daca deportations, report finds. CSNBS: US

Economy. Retrieved, October 24, 2017, from:

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http://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/31/u-s-gdp-would-take-a-hit-from-daca

deportations-report-finds.html
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Age 12-18

Agree to (Question 1)
Di sa gree to (Question 1)
Di d not have a home or fami l y to go to (Question 2)
Woul d have fami l y a ccepting them, and hous ing them (Question 2)
The di fference i s very great (Question 3)
There real l y not much of a di fference (Question 3)
Are the changes bei ng ma de fa i r (Questions 4)
Are the changes bei ng ma de unfai r (Question 4)
Show the unfami l i a rity of our home l a nds and how we woul dnt be a bl e to adapt. (Question 5)
Expl a i n that we a re just as good or even better than everyone el s e.(Question 5)
It i s very di fficul t to be non-bi a s ed (Question 5)
A THOROUGH REVIEW OF DACA 13

DACA Program Survey

1. What are your personal feelings in regards to the changes being made in the DACA

program?

2. Do you feel that if you were deported, would you have a reliable home to go to, or family

that would be willing to receive you?

o Yes

o No

3. How different are the guidelines that must be met to be able to apply for the DACA

program, to the ones needed to be acceptable in 2012?

4. Are the current changes being discussed in our government fair or unfair? Such as not

being able to have a parking ticket, or any criminal past or involvement at all.

5. What would you like to have considered if anything at all to help our government come

to a fair and unbiased resolution?