Ever since middle and high school, I remember watching the news regarding government shutdowns because congress could not compromise. Sadly, we’ve carried this stubbornness to 2017 and this time it is effecting approximately 800,000 integrated, tax-paying, hardworking, lovely and diverse human beings that we have already called our friends. This is not an issue clouded with much debate. According to a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, 78 percent of registered voters do not want to deport dreamers and want to form a path to citizenship. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was never meant to be permanent. It was meant to hold us over while we found permanent immigration legislation. Why has the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act legislative action, introduced in 2001, not yet been put into action? The DREAM Act would put into law a pathway to citizenship for the Dreamers. Approximately 800,000 dreamers should not be deported because of their parents’ choice to bring them here. Dreamers are an essential part of our economic, legal and faith-filled obligation.
The main argument I have gathered from people that support removing DACA is that anyone here illegally has broken the law and thus deserves to be removed because it was not their right in the first place. I believe most immigrants that are justified in acting illegally because of the circumstances in their life. I do not see it in relation at all to DACA recipients. Dreamers were not the ones to suddenly decide that they should cross over the border to try to survive in a different country. They were the kids in the arms of adults unable to make their own decision. Our law system sees minors as younger than 18, yet these children were much younger when brought to the United States. Their home is this country, and they are just as American as I am.
It is hard to describe the value the dreamers bring into our country, but I will start with the economic reasons. Unless Congress replaces DACA with the DREAM Act or something similar the Dreamers will not be protected and will not be allowed to work. The Center for American Progress estimated a gross loss of more than $433 billion over the next 10 years without DACA workers and with deportation costs. Every penny spent toward deporting a dreamer could be used on individuals engaged in drug or sex trafficking or people committing serious felonies. Many of these kids have been through extensive schooling and are finishing their degrees, and now, after all the recourses we have given them, we want to deport them back to their countries and not use the expertise that we have built? That cost us huge monetary opportunities.
DACA passed through the executive branch instead of Congress, causing much controversy. I can see this point, but like I mentioned earlier, the DREAM act has been proposed since 2001 and it has not gone anywhere. Former President Barack Obama wanted to have a way to give comfort and safety to the children that were brought to the United States and already in school and contributing to society. DACA recipients have a spotless legal record. The resources of our government to police people, who are not worth the effort, such as college students using illegal drugs, are not worth it. Similarly, DACA students are of low priority compared to immigrants that came over illegally with a criminal record. If President Donald Trump based his objection to DACA on legal and economic concerns, he could easily announce support of a legislative change and allow Republican Party support to pass. However, if he removes DACA and continues to deny other forms of legislation, the legal and economic values are no longer valued in my opinion and in the numbers that support these claims.
As a Creighton student of faith, I feel the implantation of the DREAM act would put Jesuit values into action. The Rev. Timothy Kesicki, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, released a letter that reflected on recent decisions by saying students “came to us for an education, you came for pastoral and spiritual guidance, and we welcomed you — not because of your nationality — but because you are our brothers and sisters in Christ. No government can tear that sacred bond.”
The concept of loving the most vulnerable is a common theme in many faiths, in particular, our school. Believe it or not, we have DACA students in our community that are our friends and our brothers and sisters. It’s our job to make them feel safe and loved with human dignity. The Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, S.J., set the tone quite well when he said in his statement, “As Catholic and Jesuit, we are committed to upholding the human dignity of each person, strengthening family bonds, and allowing every student the opportunity to maximize her or his God-given talents through higher education.”
I make no apologies for firmly standing in the economic, legal, and faith-filled obligation to support the dreamers in the freedom to continue to dream safely. For now, the DREAM Act is just a dream, but the urgency to have it become legislatively sound increases. Please reach out to your senators and representatives to voice your opinion. Calling (202)224-3121 will take you to a switchboard where you put in your zip code and it will direct you straight to your representative.