Defending DACA Means Defending Humans

Recently, President Trump announced that he was planning to repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). President Obama created DACA to protect immigrants who arrived in the United States as young children. When one hears about DACA’s repeal, one might dismiss it as affecting only others, but that is far from the truth. Immigrants contribute to our society and are people, just like the rest of Americans. Individuals covered by DACA may have come from different places, but they have grown up in the United States, and this is their home too. Naturalized and natural born Americans shouldn’t have any more right to this land than DACA immigrants. However, Americans have the privilege of being secure that they won’t be deported. President Trump is taking that security from people who are covered by DACA.

DACA, under the Obama administration, gave protection to immigrants who arrived in the United States before they turned 16. To qualify for DACA, one must be in high school or have graduated, which means that many people under DACA go on to college and are educated, tax-paying, contributing members of society.People protected by DACA have been given a work permit, driver’s license, and social security number.

At the September 9th DACA protest in Washington, I spoke with some of the protestors to try to understand how the repeal of DACA would impact them. I quickly learned that the DACA repeal would affect everyone there, either directly or indirectly. One college student told me that while she was born here and is thus a citizen, her 29-year-old brother is in the United States under DACA. The repeal of DACA not only would tear her brother away from his home, but would also potentially rip her family apart.

Speaking to another protestor, Luis, I received a first-hand account of how DACA could destroy the lives that immigrants have built for themselves in the United States. Luis came to this country with his parents from El Salvador when he was ten. The United States is thus the only home he has known for the past 17 years, the majority of his life. He is a fully integrated into our society, having graduated from high school, worked, and gone back to school where he is currently studying civil engineering in college. Luis learned of President Trump’s decision on Saturday night, and described how it initially made him “very depressed.” Soon thereafter, however, his attitude changed and he is now “just focusing on fighting and resisting.” Luis has worked hard to build a life in this country and is prepared to fight for his home and his life.

Ironically, Trump’s effort to pull communities apart has in some respects brought them closer together and made them even stronger. Viridiana, another DACA Dreamer, was on her way to class when she found out about the repeal of DACA. Instead of feeling isolated and rejected by society, she was embraced by those around her:  “It was motivational,” she explained, “to see the student body and faculty joining us in protest.”  The support shown for her after Trump’s announcement was empowering for Virdiana and other DACA Dreamers:  “It should put us down,” she told me, “but it gives us more motivation to keep dreaming.”

President Trump’s termination of DACA must be fought. People who are threatened by the repeal deserve our support and resistance. At the protest, more and more people showed up to fight, with DACA dreamers and American citizens standing side by side, joining forces and chanting with one collective voice. Their voices need to be heard.