If I could rule the world for just a little bit of time, I would declare that an executive order issued by a former president of the United States should be left on the books … never to be trifled with ever again.
I refer to President Obama’s order creating the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program. DACA was set up to shield undocumented immigrants from being deported if they were brought here as children by their parents.
President Obama fought to keep DACA in force. He left office in January 2017. His successor, Donald J. Trump, removed the DACA order. Trump then left office in January of this year and his successor, President Biden, restored the DACA order.
So there you have it. It is there, then it’s not, now it’s back again.
I want the order to remain. Why? Because these recipients of DACA privilege know no other nation than the one where they live today. That is the U.S. of A. They are de facto Americans. They are U.S. residents. Many of them have achieved great academic and professional success.
DACA is a humane policy that seeks to give these individuals an avenue to achieve citizenship or permanent resident status.
As Democrats and Republicans battle over immigration, they simply need to remove DACA from the table. These individuals have done nothing illegal other than accompany their parents into this nation.