YOU MAY SAY I AM A DREAMER, BUT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE!
DACA Should Be Revoked
Goes the popular song by John Lennon that became the Hippy Anthem of the seventies and the eighties, and may well be the anthem of all those affected by and supporting DACA.
As millions of Americans debated over whether or not DACA should be revoked and beneficiaries of the act, popularly known as Dreamers should be deported back to their home.
But before we jump into the debate of whether DACA should be revoked or whether Dreamers should be allowed to stay on, lets delve into what DACA really is and who are the Dreamers?
What Is DACA?
DACA stands for Deferred Action for Children of America, and is a program that allows children of undocumented and illegal aliens who came to America with their parents when they were very young and have been residing in America to avoid the risk of deportation and a channel for them to be integrated into mainstream American society and also to make meaningful contributions to the American economy.
The act came into effect as a result of an executive order signed by then US president Barack Obama in 2012. Under the program, any adult who was brought to America Illegally as a child and who did not have a criminal background could register for the program, which would then allow them to get amnesty from deportation, the ability to work and get a license and also a pathway to citizenship.
[Read More: Immigrants From India Into USA]
Highlights Of DACA
Following are the highlights of the program
- Children who are beneficiaries of DACA are popularly known as Dreamers
- To be eligible, the illegal must have entered the USA before he was 16 years old, must have resided in the USA continuously from June 2007 and must be less than 31 years old as on 15th June 2012
- The program was intended as a compromise solution by the Obama administration after the DREAM (Development Relief Education for Alien Minors) failed to get passed through Congress. The beneficiaries of DACA are now called Dreamers with reference to this acronym
- Most of the Dreamers are in the age group of 15 to 36.
What Is The Debate About?
The current debate stems from the fact that President Trump has chosen to revoke DACA as a policy decision and has entrusted the Congress to come up with a solution for the same within six months. The act is a heavily debated one in America with both sides having strong opinions about it.
People in favor of keeping the action in place say it would be cruel to take the protection away from Residents of America, who came to the country as kids, who have been brought up here and who are an integral part of the society and deport them.
On the other hand, the people in favor of revoking the act argue that the program encourages and condones Illegal Immigration, which is detrimental to the American economy in the long run.
The Arguments In Favor Of DACA
The arguments in favor of the act are mostly based on the grounds of Humanitarianism. The proponents of DACA have put forth the following arguments in support of continuing DACA.
- Revoking the act will take away protection from many workers and students who are leading normal lives in the USA and force them to go to countries which they are not familiar with.
- Disrupting the lives of Dreamers for no fault of theirs will be against the spirit of humanity and what the USA stands for
- Many of the Dreamers have no ties to the country where they hail from and may be forced to return to countries where human rights records are not very good
- Many of the Dreamers who have joined Mainstream America are already having jobs and contributing to the economy. Deporting all of them may have consequences that can cause a burden on the US labor market as well as the economy.
The Arguments Against Continuing DACA
The following arguments have been put forth by people advocating for a complete or partial revoking of the act.
- The act condones illegal immigration by giving benefits to children of illegal immigrants.
- Allowing children of illegal immigrants amnesty against deportation will encourage more people to immigrate illegally.
- Giving benefits of American residence to children of illegal immigrants is not fair to the thousands of legal immigrants who wait for their turn to enter the USA legally in large numbers all over the world
- Allowing children of illegal immigrants to obtain jobs in the USA will take away more jobs from the legal residents and law abiding Citizens of America.
- People who are deported under the act can come back by applying through proper legal channels for a valid Immigration Visa To USA
[Read More: IDream Of DACA? Apple CEP Speaks Up For The Dreamers!]
What Happens Now To The Dreamers?
On Sept 5th the Trump administration has announced that it proposes to end the Obama era program but has deferred the decision to end by six months. He has given Congress six months to come up with a solution.
In the meantime, those who are already receiving protection under the act can renew their two-year legal status until 5th October, however, no new applications will be received. Also should Congress not act to restore the act or come up with an alternative solution, many Dreamers could see themselves being deported back to their home countries.
Closer home, according to reports about 7300 Indians are at the risk of deportation as a result of stopping of the act To know more about DACA and why it is always best to Immigrate through legal channels get in touch with Global Tree at Begumpet- Hyderabad the Most Trusted Immigration Consultancy in India.
