preview

DACA Argumentative Essay

Decent Essays

A Compromise: DACA “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people,” per President Trump about Mexico. A massive understatement, as one study indicates that an increase in immigrant concentration in American cities may even lead to a decrease in crime (MacDonald). Yet, a problem remains. Illegal immigrants have broken the law to be in the United States (US), even if they have committed no other crimes while in the US. That said, programs like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that reprieves the children of illegal immigrants from deportation and allows them to receive work permits, encourages immigrants to illegally seek refuge in the US. More problematic, the program is fleeting and, in the long run, does not provide undocumented immigrants with the protection they truly need. With all the Obama Administration’s good intentions, DACA creates …show more content…

Per the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), as a requirement of the program, DACA participants must be enrolled in college or university, but it does not protect DREAMers upon graduation (or after the 2-year term is over). This means that the benefits, such as deferred deportation, they received while under DACA disseminate, leaving DREAMers once again vulnerable. The problem is that DACA does not provide DREAMers with a path to citizenship. Currently, the paths to US citizenship is arduous and tedious, many requiring sponsorship from current citizens. Typically, an immigrant seeking sponsorship can receive it from a spouse, a family member, the military, or even an employer (“Path U.S. Citizenship’). If a DREAMer decides to stay in the US after their DACA benefits have expired, they can try to get sponsorship from an employer. The problem is that they also run the risk of being exposed to Homeland Security and being deported to a country they do not even

Get Access