Daca and the Dreamers: why Trump is targeting young migrants
White House axes Obama-era programme protecting up to 800,000 people from deportation
The Trump administration this week announced the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, known as Daca.
The scheme, which protects young illegal immigrants from deportation, was introduced in 2012 and will be phased out by 5 March next year, says The Guardian.
Its repeal has proven highly divisive. Barack Obama, who introduced the programme, has condemned the move, while The Economist suggests that “the next Republican civil war looms”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What is Daca?
The programme is - as the University of California, Berkeley website puts it - “a kind of administrative relief from deportation”, in which young undocumented immigrants arriving in the US are protected from deportation.
As many as 800,000 migrants, known as “Dreamers”, are currently benefiting from the programme, according to The Guardian.
Application requirements state that applicants must be under the age of 31 and must have arrived in the US before their 16th birthday and have lived continuously in the US from 15 June 2007.
If migrants pass these and a number of other criteria, any action to deport them is deferred for two years, with a chance to renew after that time.
Furthermore, Dreamers are eligible for basic privileges including a driving licence, college enrolment and work permits.
Why has Trump repealed it?
On Tuesday, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced an “orderly, lawful wind-down” of Daca, claiming the programme was an unconstitutional overreach by the Obama administration, says The Independent.
New applicants to Daca will no longer be accepted. Due to the two-year extension system, this means that everyone in the programme will lose their recognised migrant status by March 2020, following the Bill's official repeal in March 2018 - unless Congress can pass legislation allowing the Dreamers to stay before then.
What has the reaction been?
Left-wing media blasted the decision, with The Atlantic referring to the repeal as “senseless”, and Vox claiming Trump had “turned Daca into a ticking time bomb”.
Democrats have called the repeal “disgraceful”, “shameful”, “despicable”, “cruel” and “bigoted”, according to the Daily Mail, and Obama has ventured rare direct criticism of Trump’s decision.
“[A] shadow has been cast over some of our best and brightest young people once again,” he said. “To target these young people is wrong – because they have done nothing wrong.
“What if our kid’s science teacher, or our friendly neighbour, turns out to be a Dreamer? Where are we supposed to send her? To a country she doesn’t know or remember, with a language she may not even speak?”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - April 27, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - natural gas, fundraising with Ted Cruz, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Aid to Ukraine: too little, too late?
Talking Point House of Representatives finally 'met the moment' but some say it came too late
By The Week UK Published
-
5 generously funny cartoons on the $60 billion foreign aid package
Cartoons Artists take on Republican opposition, aid to Ukraine, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Justices set to punt on Trump immunity case
Speed Read Conservative justices signaled support for Trump's protection from criminal charges
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Arizona grand jury indicts 18 in Trump fake elector plot
Speed Read The state charged Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies in 2020 election interference case
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Who will win the 2024 presidential election?
In Depth Election year is here. Who are pollsters and experts predicting to win the White House?
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
National Enquirer helped Trump in 2016, ex-boss says
Speed Read David Pecker says the tabloid published fabricated content to hurt Trump's rivals
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sitting in judgment on Trump
Opinion Who'd want to be on this jury?
By Susan Caskie Published
-
How could the Supreme Court's Fischer v. US case impact the other Jan 6. trials including Trump's?
Today's Big Question A former Pennsylvania cop might hold the key to a major upheaval in how the courts treat the Capitol riot — and its alleged instigator
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published