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A Decade of DACA: Anniversary Event and Background Information
Posted on Jun 13 2022
June 13, 2022 – ILCM will present virtual panel discussion marking the 10th anniversary of DACA on June 14.
Home is Here: A Virtual Discussion on a Decade of DACA and the Future for Dreamers will provide an overview of the DACA program; discuss the impact of the program on participants, businesses, and communities; and share their insights on the future for Dreamers. The panel will include Lisa Pedrys from Medtronic, Emilia Gonzalez Avalos from Unidos MN, and Ania Salcedo, an ILCM intern and DACA recipient. Mackenzie Heinrichs, ILCM’s Equal Justice Works Fellow, will moderate the discussion. This event is free and open to the public. Register at https://www3.thedatabank.com/dpg/334/mtglistproc.asp?formid=2016Calendar&caleventid=37034
They came here decades ago, children brought across the border by their parents. After growing up here, going to school here, working here, building families here, they are still denied access to the American Dream. Though they know the United States as home, they remain undocumented, with no path forward. They are the Dreamers.
Their name comes from the Dream Act, bipartisan legislation first proposed in 2001, but never passed. On June 15, 2012, President Barack Obama’s administration created DACA—Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—to give temporary and limited protection to some Dreamers. Ten years later, they remain stuck in limbo.
Republicans and Democrats agree: these Dreamers should stay. Three-quarters of all Americans, including more than half of Republicans, say they should have a pathway to citizenship. Yet Congress has repeatedly failed to act.
DACA gave temporary protection to about 700,000 Dreamers, who met strict age and other requirements, assembled complicated paperwork and extensive documentation, and came up with more than $700 for application fees. The average DACA recipient arrived in the United States at age 7 and has lived here for more than 20 years. At least 2 million more Dreamers remain unprotected even by DACA.
“Congressional inaction on DACA hurts families, communities, and the country,” said Veena Iyer, executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM). “Dreamers are part of the fabric of this country, and we all benefit from their continued participation and contributions. Congress must act to support DREAMers and all of us.”
Dreamers who managed to get DACA before the Trump administration closed applications have permission to live and work here, but no path to permanent residence or citizenship. They can renew their status for two years at a time, paying about $500 for each renewal. Even this temporary safety is under concerted attack by in several state lawsuits.
Moreover, because of actions by the prior administration and the courts, young people who became eligible for DACA after March 2018 cannot even apply for the program. And this year, a majority of undocumented young people who graduated from high school would not even be eligible for the program if it were reinstated as originally established because they were brought to the United States after 2007. In short, hundreds of thousands of DREAMers have been left with no protection.