Dreamers are now struggling to keep their jobs and are subject to deportation.
On September 5, US President Donald Trump announced the end of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that protects immigrants who came to America at a young age. Congress now has six months to propose a replacement.
DACA was implemented in 2012 through an executive order by former President Barack Obama. This program protects undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children from deportation. To be eligible, individuals need to have arrived in the US before age 16, and they must have a high school diploma, a GED certification and a clean criminal record.
The people protected under DACA, also known as “Dreamers,” are primarily from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, with the vast majority living in California, Texas, Florida and New York.
Obama attempted to expand DACA in 2014, making older immigrants eligible for the program. Republicans strongly opposed this proposal and sued the administration, halting the expansion from going into effect.
President Trump, despite having spoken for his love of the Dreamers, upheld his hardline view on immigration by removing the amnesty the US had once permitted. Many states threatened to sue the Trump administration for leaving the program untouched, prompting the president to rescind the initiative that had protected 800,000 people.
Dreamers are now struggling to keep their jobs and are subject to deportation. An estimated 450,000 people are also predicted to lose health insurance.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.
Photo Credit: Rena Schild / Shutterstock.com
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