The DACA Essay

S. 3827, a new version of the DREAM Act, includes numerous changes to address concerns raised about the bill. Less than a month later, on November 16, President Barack Obama and top Democrats pledged to introduce the Dream Act into the House by November 29. On June 15, 2012, President Barack Obama announced that his administration would stop deporting undocumented immigrants who match certain criteria included in the proposed DREAM Act (Cohen, Tom).  On August 15, 2012, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting applications under the Obama administration's new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The reality that immigration policies and registration requirements create for undocumented students is a grim one; despite their scholarly capability, thousands upon thousands of undocumented students who have completed high school do not continue on with their education because of the lack of legal paperwork (DREAM Act). This has been the story line for countless undocumented valedictorians, like Grecia Cantu, who’s dream of going to Baylor University to become a teacher was plucked by a simple mandate of Congress (Smith). Despite having a presidential scholarship to Baylor University, Grecia’s future is hampered by her illegal status in the country and the inactivity of the DREAM Act in congress, which is due largely to its brisk opponents. Critics of the legislation falsely advocate that it grants preferential treatment to undocumented students (Malkin 1). In reality, the DREAM Act only grants qualifying individuals with a temporary residency, a driver’s license, and a work permit (Giving the Fact). This allows the students who meet the criteria the same tuition rates as natural-born citizens and a legal way to work and drive in the country. Another resounding critic among the opponents of the bill includes the common misconception that the DREAM Act will provide amnesty and forgive the federal offense immigrants committed when they entered the country illegally (Smith). In truth, only immigrants who entered the country during their youth, before age 16, are eligible for the benefits of the legislation. Once they apply, they will have to fulfill the requirements of completing a 2-year college or serve a 2-year term in the armed forces to finally receive resident status, not citizenship, after 6 years of proved residency (Creating Opportunities). If Congress allowed this legislation to

In the United States, many families are currently being affected by the Dream Act’s failure to pass. The Dream Act would have given many undocumented children the ability to have a pathway to citizenship. The Dream Act believed in the importance of social support within the family by supporting family unification. However, due to its failure to pass, millions of undocumented children are now at risk of being deported and having their families divided. Although the U.S. government created a new policy known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), it is not providing immigrants with the same opportunity. DACA instead give undocumented people the opportunity to not be deported for a maximum of three years, but will never become a pathway to permanent citizenship. The Dream Act and DACA ultimately affects the physiological, emotional, and mental health of the immigrants who reside within the U.S.

The United States has long wrestled with questions over immigration policy, with heavy partisan rancor characterizing the nature of illegal immigration as a political issue. As a humanitarian, economical and sociological issue, illegal immigration is not only a pressing issue but one that can invoke highly charged and emotional reaction from both sides. This was amply demonstrated this past week when President Obama announced that the Department of Homeland Security would be granting 'deferred action' status to a category of illegal immigrants falling into a qualifying set of demographic conditions. According to Julia Preston & John H. Cushman Jr.'s 2012 New York Times article entitled "Obama to Permit Young Migrants to Remain in U.S," the President used his executive authority to limit the number of deportations committed upon illegal immigrants by easing the status of the youngest of these.

Every year thousands of undocumented students graduate from high school with uncertainty about a post-secondary education. Many of these students do not have the financial means, and are often too scared about their legal status to continue their education. This issue is extremely prevalent in the state of California, hosting 2.6 million “alien residents”, it has the largest population of undocumented immigrants (Gonzales, 2006). Immigration policies have been controversial topics in the United States for a long time. Although there is still an ongoing debate about reforming the current immigration laws, there has been progress in making post-secondary education a possibility for undocumented students. This paper will focus

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act), is a proposed bipartisan legislation that is meant to provide amnesty and relief

In the United States, there are hundreds of thousands of people whose safety in this nation is in jeopardy. The recipients of DACA, a deportation protection program, rely on its benefits to remain in the US. Not only does DACA keep many people safe, but it provides a variety of benefits outside of simply being protected from deportation. The impacts of DACA on society, the economy, and health vastly outweigh the possible negatives it has on the United States.

Development, Relief & Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. It still has yet to be passed and

Undocumented students are becoming a growing outrage in the United States. It has been a constant battle amongst the students, the schools, and the Government. According to collegeboard.com, statistics shows that 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools each year (collegeboard.com).After graduating high school they face legal and financial barriers to higher education. This paper will address the importance of this growing outrage and discuss the following that corresponds to it.

In June 2012 the Obama administration announced the creation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The program grants deferred action (protection from deportation) and work authorization to certain young unauthorized immigrants who came to the United States as children, have pursued an education, and have not committed serious crimes or pose no national security threat (Hipsman, Faye, and Doris Meissner, 2014). Individuals who are granted DACA status are considered as being "lawful presence," regardless of their citizenship which makes individuals eligible for driver's licenses and other state-determined benefits where states choose to grant them (Adams, Angela, and Kerry S. Boyne, 2015). The individuals who apply to DACA have to go through intense background checks, which includes fingerprint analysis, to make sure the individuals are safe for society. For all purpose DACA students are one step closer to legal status and have been deemed to be helpful to society. Many opponents of in-state tuition for undocumented students claimed that because the students could not legally work the state would lose money, however DACA has changed things forever. Now the DACAmented students can get jobs and pursue the careers they studied for in college (Adams, Angela, and Kerry S. Boyne, 2015). According to Migration Policy Institute, it is estimated that 1.7 million individuals are eligible for the DACA program. As of March 2013, the program's rolling application process has seen 469,530 requests and USCIS has approved 245,493 cases (Hipsman, Faye, and Doris Meissner, 2014). These immigrants pay taxes (i.e, sales taxes) and now they are working legally, which means more revenue for the state in both wage and sales taxes. The third policy alternative would ease the worries of anti-Texas Dream Act in the respect that the students

This paper will overview several federal and state legislations in regards to an undocumented child's rights to a public education, overview controversial laws that are trying to hinder their right to education, and conclude with the implication of these political decisions on the undocumented child.

Government needs to access and make new policies for what happens after undocumented students graduate from college (Achieving Equity for Latino Students p. 117)

Despite the years of Republican obstructionism in Congress, as well as a breathtaking lack of respect from his political opponent, President Obama reformed the healthcare and immigration system. President Obama signed the ACA into law in March 2010 and promoted a broad immigration reform. Although it did not become law, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, (DREAM Act) set the stage for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. “Immigration and Executive Action” article writes:

President Obama was so disappointed in fact that he brought national attention to this issue again on January 25, 2011 during his state of the union address. In his own words he described his support as follows:

After my parents divorced, my sisters and I would go visit my dad in Arkansas every summer, but the only problem was that my older sister was never able to go with us on the plane. I never understood why until I got older and my sister came to me. She thought she would never be able to go to college and follow her dreams to become a doctor because she had found out that she was undocumented. It wasn’t until 2015 that my undocumented sister had the chance to become a DACA recipient.