Daca is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. This program has protected approximately 800,000 young adults who are unauthorized immigrants from deportation and as of 2012, it allowed them to work legally in the US. These children were brought to the U.S. by their parents and they are a part of a generation of immigrants that were raised alongside U.S. citizens. Now the Trump Administration has alarmed the country with a decision to end DACA
The original aim of the program was to help them build a life in the U.S. In essence, putting an end to the program would mean each of these young adults would lose their ability to work.
Further to this, it would mean they would be uprooted from the lives they live and they would be forced to start over in a land they left when they were so much younger.
Sad day for America
This announcement has been received with a lot of criticism. Interestingly enough some of the strongest criticisms have come from the tech industry. Tech giants have hired a number of the young Dreamers that President Trump referred to.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said 250 of his Apple employees are Dreamers. he took to twitter to have his say.
#Dreamers contribute to our companies and our communities just as much as you and I. Apple will fight for them to be treated as equals.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 5, 2017
CNN Money quoted Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, as saying, "It is particularly cruel to offer young people the American Dream, encourage them to come out of the shadows and trust our government, and then punish them for it," Zuckerberg wrote.
"This is a sad day for our country."
America’s response to DACA
Several known entities around the county issued statements voicing their disagreement with the announcement and stressing the need for the Dreamers to stay in the country. While Hollywood reacted, so too did Yale University, North Carolina State University, and Colby College.
They are just some of the entities that came forward, a microcosm of a larger group calling for the Dreamers to stay.
On their website, NC State University responded to the announcement writing, “DACA students, please know you remain a welcomed and valuable part of the NC State community. No changes to our policies have occurred, and NC State will continue to support all DACA students to the fullest extent possible.
Counseling, legal advice and other support services will continue to be provided to all students."
While the uncertainty remains and some panic is certain, the Dreamers remain hopeful. Those who support them and those whose lives they have impacted on remain hopeful that they will not be asked to leave the place they have called home for so long.
Obama condemns the move
Former American President Barack Obama responded to Trump’s decision on ending DACA by posting his views on Facebook and Twitter. He was very clear in his message. According to him, “the action taken today isn’t required legally. It’s a political decision and a moral question.”
He went on to explain, “Whatever concerns or complaints Americans may have about immigration in general, we shouldn’t threaten the future of this group of young people who are here through no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking away anything from the rest of us.” Obama’s Facebook post received 75,000 comments and over 635,000 shares.
President Trump tweeted, “Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA. If they can't, I will revisit this issue!”
