Who are the DREAMers?
Legalization
or Deportation
for Dreamers
787,850
According to the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services 787,580 people received DACA through March 2017.
Since implementation, 30% of DACA recipients decided to continue post secondary shool
Ending DACA would remove an estimated 685,000 workers from the nation's economy.
30%
685,000
$460.3 BN
The Center for American Progress estimates ending DACA would result in a loss of $460.3 billion from the national GDP.
Although we are a nation that consist a population of many different nationalities, our views on immigrants have tremendously changed in the past years from a more accepting and welcoming to a more hostile attitude towards immigrants. Immigrants have now been used a scapegoat by some political groups and members of our society by blaming them for the country’s financial and social problems without concrete evidence that they are the source of the problem. A group of immigrants that has been the focus of attention in the last few months is the DREAMers.They have been accused of stealing jobs from unemployed Americans, bringing crime to the country, and abusing social programs that use tax dollars.By taking this approach on immigrants, we are failing to see the benefits that immigrants such as DREAMers bring to our society. Immigrants bring hopes and dreams to better their life that result in new ideas, a growing economy, and a generation of immigrants whose only wished is to achieve the American Dream.
The problem?
United States IMMIGRATION
America has always been viewed by people across the globe as “ the land of opportunity.” This is something that as a country has been able to set us apart from other nations and is a symbol of our country. The greatest way to keep alive this American belief that our country is” the land of opportunity” is through these young immigrants who are looking to better their life through employment opportunities and educational advancement. By preventing these young immigrants from following their dreams, we are not only killing their dreams but killing the idea of the American Dream that has made this country so great by allowing people from all over the world to dream of a brighter future in the “land of opportunity.”
A Nation of immigrants
“Give me your tired, give me your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Sense these, the homeless, the tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp besides the golden door” (Emma Lazarus, 10-14.) This words by Emma were inscribed on a plaque and affixed to the inner wall of the statue of liberty in the year 1903. When referring to the poem House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif), said outside the Supreme Court.”It’s a statement of values of our country. It’s a recognition that the strength of our country is in our diversity, that the revitalization constantly of America comes from our immigrant population”. The Statue of Liberty which carries this message has welcomed millions of immigrant into the U.S as they arrived with nothing but a suitcase full of clothes and mind full of dreams. This powerful poem perfectly describes immigration in the United States. This country has has opened its doors to people in times of despair but who are willing to risk everything to achieve a better future and while doing so have made this country the great nation it is today. If this formula of welcoming those in need has worked for so many years, why should we now deport the young immigrants who have risked everything to come to the U.S and are working diligently to better their careers and educations? By doing this, we are putting at risk the identity of our nation and the idea that this country is the “land of opportunity.
According to the Pew Research Center, “Mexico is by far the top country of origin for active DACA recipients (548,000), followed by El Salvador (25,900), Guatemala (17,700) and Honduras (16,100)” (The Pew Research Center, 2017.) This trend of young immigrants coming from the United State’s South neighbor’s is no coincidence. Most of these young immigrants make the voyage to the United States in desperate hopes for safety which they lack in their home countries due to gang violence, organized crime, the crush of poverty, and corrupt governments. Conditions in their countries are so bad that the kids who often travel alone without any supervision are willing to risk their lives in search of a brighter future. A brighter future in a land that has served as a safe haven for immigrants throughout its history.
It may not be easy to define to find something in common among the millions of immigrants that have immigrated to the United States from all over the world. However, there is one thing that identifies the character of immigrants coming to the United States.The bravery to pick up, leave everything behind, and travel hundreds of miles in uncertainty to search for something; they search for a better future for themselves and their future generations. This common theme can be seen among the the various waves of immigration in the United States and the DREAMers who are fighting to become accepted by the only country they know.
DACA BY THE NUMBERS
Thanks to DACA around 800,000 immigrants have been able to obtain work permits and a social security which has granted them the opportunity to follow their educational and career goals. Recent studies performed by the National Immigration Law Center and the Center for American progress demonstrate that the DACA program has a had positive impact, not only for the recipients themselves but for overall health of the American Economy. DACA has opened many door in the workforce for its recipients. Out of all DACA recipients, eighty-seven percent of them are currently employed, with an additional eight percent not working but attending school. (Center for American Progress, 2016) Additionally, the latest data indicates that after being approved for DACA, 63 percent of recipients report obtaining a job with a higher pay, 49 percent obtained a job that “better fits my education and training,” and 48 percent obtained a job with improved working conditions. The data also reflect an increase of average hourly wages among DACA recipients of 42%, rising from $9.83 per hour to $13.96 per hour. (Center for American Progress, 2016)
Not only have DREAMers been able to excel in the work field, they have also been able to make major advancements in education despite of all the challenges which they face. Although in many states, DREAMers are now able to pay in-state tuition if they certain requirements. Unlike permanent residents or U.S citizens, DREAMers are still not eligible for any type of federal-aid and very few states have laws that allow them to provide state-aid for DREAMers who may decide to attend a higher education institution. Yet, according to a UWD Survey of DACA recipients, it was found that since receiving DACA 30% of the survey respondents returned to school. This is consistent with other surveys that have shown that DACA can help these young immigrants overcome some of the legal and financial difficulties that stop them from furthering their education. Respondents of the UWD survey also displayed a high rate of two-year and four-year postsecondary school completion, at 27.8% percent.
As a result of the improvement in Employment that DACA recipients have benefited from, they have been able to make major financial investments that have helped move up the economic ladder and has resulted in millions of dollars in tax revenue. Data in recent students demonstrates that 54% of recipients purchased their first car after receiving DACA. The Data indicates that most people, 71%, purchased used cars, while a smaller percentage of 29, purchased new cars. The average cost used vehicles purchased by respondents was $10,637, and the average cost of new car purchases was $24,307. (UWD Survey of DACA recipients, 2015) The major investments result in big tax revenues for states, as most states collect between 3 percent and 6 percent of the purchase in sales tax, they also benefit from registration and title fees. The study also found that 12 percent of respondents were able to purchase their first home after receiving DACA, with an average cost of $167,596. (UWD Survey of DACA recipients, 2015) As the numbers suggest, the legalization of DREAMErs has not only allowed to make major financial investments that improved their lifestyle, it has resulted in millions of dollar of tax revenue that would be loss without the DREAMErs. These static serve to provide people with a clear understanding of why DREAMers are here in America, to better their life and advance in American society, while helping American society move forward.
The Trump Administrations has continuously claim that DACA recipients are pulling jobs from millions of Americans. However, there are millions of jobs unfilled due a skilled gap. When addressing the employment issues with regards to DACA White House press secretary of state, Sarah Huckabee, made the following statement hours after Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, announced President Trump’s decision to end DACA, “I think that it’s a known fact that there are over 4 million unemployed Americans in the same age group as those that are DACA recipients. Those are large groups of people that are unemployed that could possibly have those jobs.” While it may be true that there are still millions of Americans unemployed, there is widening skills gap that is causing a shortage of skilled workers for employers across the U.S. Take for an example the manufacturing sector in America, in an article by the magazine the Economist it explained that manufacturers across the nation are struggling to find workers because “many still think factory work involves repetitive assembly-line tasks, as in the candy factory on the old TV sitcom, I Love Lucy” (The Economist,2017) Most of the jobs that have been lost in the manufacturing sector have been as a result of the investment in automation, which has helped American manufacturing more than doubled output since the Reagan era according to the U.S Federal reserve. Although those assembly -line types of jobs have been replaced by automated machines, America’s most technologically-advanced jobs are now expanding confidently. However, many of those more technologically-advanced companies are struggling to find enough skilled workers. “The Manufacturing Institute, an industry body, and Deloitte calculated there will be nearly 3.5 millions manufacturing job openings in America the decade to 2025, but that 2.5 may go unfilled.” (The Economist ,2017) As dreamers become a more educated group, they can serve to bridge the gap for skilled workers in modern manufacturing.
After President Trump decided to put an end to DACA, many leaders in the business world including Mark Zuckerberg CEO of Facebook, Sundar Pichai CEO of Google, and Tim Cook CEO of Apple expressed their support towards DREAMers. Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody’s Analytics, gave out the following statement regarding DREAMers, “The Dreamers are on track to be a highly educated group, and losing them will be a significant blow to businesses already struggling to find educated and skilled workers.”
By forcing DREAMers to go back to the shadows of undocumentation, the government is stopping the progress of young immigrants who are active members of the economy and are fighting to progress in the country that their parents brought them in to seek a better life. Although their parents did break the U.S law by entering the country illegally, the young children who they brought along with them can not be blamed for the mistakes of their parents. Many DREAMers who are protected under the DACA program immigrated to the United States at such an early age that they not even remember life in their country of birth. They were raised in schools where they learned American values such as the “American Dream”, the importance of a democracy, and the idea that all have men have a right to life and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. DREAMers were encouraged to come out of the shadows and follow their American Dream, just so they could be punished by the same government that asked for their trust.
Amnesty
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One of the main reason that Republican Party opposes to provide a path towards permanent residentship for DACA recipients is the “amnesty” factor. The meaning of amnesty is: “a general pardon for offenses, especially political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction” (Dictionary.com.) After president Trump put an end to the DACA program, he made a call to Congress to act and pass legislations that would protect DREAMers. However, after making this statement he received a lot of negative feedback from his own political party. House Representative, Steve King (R-Iowa) responded to Trump’s call to congress with the following tweet, “Trump base is blown up, destroyed, irreparable, and disillusioned beyond repair. No promise is credible.” When White House Secretary of state addressed the issue, she explained that The Trump Administration will not be discussing amnesty and will rather discuss an immigration reform, that could include legal citizenship over a period of time. However, most conservatives would consider “legal citizenship over a period of time” to meet the definition of amnesty (Fox News.) However, later declarations by President Trump contradict that statement and show that he believes DREAMers cannot be blamed for being brought to this country as children
This serves to shows that even President Trump who has been characterized for his anti-immigration and his attacks on the DACA program believes DREAMers are not to blame for breaking the law. The opposers of DACA who argue against “amnesty” are too focused on punishment and fail to see that they are referring as crimes to acts that were committed by people that at the time were kids or infants. DACA recipients immigrated to this country as minors and more than often were brought into this country by their parents leaving them with little to no choice regarding “breaking” U.S law by entering the country illegally. It is unfair to punish these young immigrants for crime that they had no choice in committing at an age at which they were not capable of making such a decision. One of the many requirements for the DACA program is that its recipients must have entered the United States prior to their 16th birthday. Although the average age of “DREAMers” enrolled in the DACA program is 24 years old (Pew Research Center,) all of the recipients were minors when they first arrived to the U.S. In fact, according to a 2017 survey of more than three thousand DACA recipients, the median age of entry into the United States was 6 years old, and the most common age was 3 (The New York Times.)
The United States is nation that has been built by immigrants from all around the globe and its cultural diversity enriches society gives it an advantage over other nations. The spirit of the immigrants that have immigrated here in search of in search of a better future is one of bravery and dedication has helped this country rise and become the nation that it is today. As the political views of the nation start to change due to new political movements, it important to not forget that this country throughout its History has opened its doors to people in time of crisis because of the believe that this is “the land of opportunity.” The DREAMers who are protected under the DACA program have been raised in this country with American values and are making big improvements in the workforce, education, and society. They are a group of immigrants who in the 21st century are helping keep the idea of the American Dream alive. Instead of punishing them for violating laws when they were just children at no fault of their own, the governments must look at the benefits that these immigrants bring to the nation and take a look back at our immigration history to make a decision regarding the future of these immigrants. It will then become clear that the best resolution is to provide a path towards citizenship for DREAMers that will allow them to fully exploit their talents and skills and this will help them move forward in society and help our country move forward.
A brief look at The History of the DREAM Act
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In the year 1982, the Supreme Court issued Plyler v. Doe, which allowed undocumented students to gain back the right to a free public education in the United States. Although this was a big step for undocumented students, it left many students in a position of uncertainty due to the fact they could be deported at any time and weren’t able to further their educations beyond High School.
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To address these issues, the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education, for Alien Minors Act) was introduced to congress, in the year 2001, this piece of legislation aimed to provide a path to legal permanent residency for undocumented students who met certain requirements. The young immigrants who would benefit from the DREAM Act soon became known as the DREAMers. Despite being in the government’s agenda for over 16 years, the DREAM Act has not become a reality and has continuously failed to pass in congress. The Obama Administration in response to the failure of the DREAM Act. In the year 2012, it passed an executive action known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) which granted DREAMers a two year work permit and Social Security number which allowed them to legally work and attend a higher education institution. Since DACA was passed, there have been approximately 800,000 young unauthorized immigrants who have benefited from the program and have been protected from deportation by DACA. Currently, there’s nearly 690,000 immigrants enrolled in the program.
During his presidential campaign, President Trump spoke strongly against the DACA program referring to it as “illegal amnesty.” He made it one of his campaign promises to put an end to president Obama’s executive order. In the past month of September, President Trump delivered his promise of ending DACA. As early as March, many of the 800,000 DACA recipients who have been able to attend school and further their careers thanks to the program will be at risk of deportation. The Trump administration has spoken against the dreamers stating that hundreds of thousands of jobs are denied to Americans by allowing those same illegal aliens to take those jobs. Although president Trump has made a call to congress to find an alternative for DACA, the future of the DREAMErs remains unclear as the odds of passing an immigration reform in a deeply divided Congress are against the DREAMErs.
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WashingtonPost. “Who are "dreamers?” YouTube, 8 Sep. 2017,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omXuTtfpjwo&t=66s
CNBC. “AG Jeff Sessions: DACA is denying jobs to Americans” YouTube, 5 Sep. 2017,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxZ_DAxymU4
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CNBC. “Here's what major CEOs are saying about Trump's decision to end DACA” YouTube, 6 Sep. 2017,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc-FALjTwWc
Trump, Donald (realDonaldTrump)."...They have been in our country so many years through no fault of their own - brought in by their parents at a young age. Plus BIG border securtiy) 14 September, 3:35 AM. Tweet.
Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Sir J Fraser, Scottish -born, naturalised American citizen and 2016 Nobel Chemistry Prize winner, made following statement in 2016: “I think the United States is what it is today largely because of open borders.” Sir J Fraser made this statement the same year that all of six America’s 2016 Nobel Prize winners were immigrants. Ironically, this also occurred the same year that Donald Trump who was characterized for running an anti-immigrant campaign was elected as president of the United States. The fact that all six of America’s Nobel Prize Winners were immigrant should be no surprise. According to a 2013 report by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, in 2013 there over 5.2 million immigrant scientist working in the United States. 57% of them were born in Asia, 20%of them originates from North America (excluding U.S.A,) 16% had a European origin country, and 6% were born in Africa, and less than 1% in Oceania. Furthermore, since the year 2000, immigrants have been awarded 31 of 78 of the Nobel Prizes won by American in Chemistry, Medicine, and Physics, according to research from the National Foundation for American Policy (Forbes). This trend immigrant scientist excelling in their field is not new. Throughout History in the United States, there have been many immigrants and refugee scientist who have not only made great contributions to this country but the whole world. A few examples are, Nobel Prize winner in 1933 and creator of the Theory of Relativity , Albert Einstein, who was a German refugee, Nobel Prize winner in 1995 and Mexican immigrant, Mario Molina, who discovered that the release of CFCs particles could destroy the ozone layer in stratosphere, and Nobel Prize winner in 1938 and Italian Immigrant, Enrico Fermi, who was one of the director’s in the Manhattan project.