15 JUN 2023
The 11th Anniversary of DACA Finds Program Once Again Under Attack, Underscores Need for Swift Action
Ongoing legal threats to the DACA program require that leaders develop a plan to secure permanent protections
WASHINGTON, DC – Today marks the 11th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a 2012 Obama-era initiative that extended work authorization and relief from deportation for young people brought to the U.S. as children. Since its inception, DACA has changed the lives of over 835,000 Dreamers by allowing them to plant roots in the only country they’ve ever known. With these protections, Dreamers were able to attain an education, start families, join the military, work lawfully, and more fully integrate as members of our communities and economies.
Yet DACA continues to face immediate challenges in the courts by conservative actors looking to terminate the program and upend the lives of DACA recipients and the over 1 million U.S. citizens they live with. These ongoing attacks require that our leaders step up and put an end to the indefinite uncertainty that Dreamers and their loved ones live with each day. As President Obama stated in 2012, “[DACA is] not a permanent fix. This is a temporary stopgap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people.
Eleven years later, it is past due time for our leaders to do what the majority of Americans (76%) agree is the right thing: deliver permanent protections for our nation’s Dreamers.
Sergio Gonzales, Executive Director of the Immigration Hub, said:
“Eleven years ago, the DACA program transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Dreamers across the country by giving them the opportunity to work, study and live without the fear of deportation. It gave them a chance at the American Dream. Today, many DACA recipients have achieved these milestones and more: 99% have graduated high school, 86% are in the labor force, and collectively they’ve contributed $108 billion to the nation’s economy. Yet, facing never-ending attacks from the right and the courts, their future remains in limbo.
"Today’s bipartisan introduction of the Dream and Promise Act by Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia represents the kind of leadership we need to protect Dreamers from being torn away from the only home they’ve ever known. The legislation would allow DACA recipients to apply for permanent legal status and, eventually, for full-fledged citizenship. Frustratingly, obstruction by Republican leadership continues to keep the door to congressional action locked.
“We’re in a pivotal moment for DACA. With congressional inaction, it is crucial that President Biden builds upon his administration’s work on DACA to ensure protections for Dreamers while we continue to pressure Congress to pass legislation that should have been delivered decades ago. With DACA on the chopping block, the stakes in the 2024 election could not be higher for Dreamers. As their lives hang in the balance, we call on our leaders to provide a pathway forward for these young immigrants.”
Daishi Miguel-Tanaka, a DACA recipient from Los Angeles, CA and Legislative Manager at the Immigration Hub said:
“DACA has given me the opportunity to work, drive, gain a college education, and support my elderly parents; it’s a lifeline for me and my family. I have been in the U.S. since I was six years old. Without DACA, I will have to self-deport. I pay thousands of dollars in taxes each year without any promise of permanent residency. We need a pathway to citizenship so we can keep living, contributing, and dreaming in the country we call home.”
Andrea Colmenero, a DACA recipient from Denver, CO and Special Assistant at the Immigration Hub said:
“Every year on DACA’s anniversary, I am reminded of the life-changing opportunities the program has provided me and thousands of undocumented youth across the country, such as the ability to pursue higher education and build my career. Simultaneously, I am reminded of the uncertainty and fear of the existential threat due to yet another looming court ruling.
“I yearn to be able to continue to work in the field I am deeply committed to and contribute to my communities and the only country I've ever called home. With the program's termination on the horizon, there is no time to waste. The time is now to protect Dreamers like myself and provide us with a permanent solution.”
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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.