By definition, they arrived in the United States as children, and, by
definition, they all arrived at least 10 years ago--a year and a half
before Obama even got sworn in as President. There are 800,000 of them--800,000 young Americans who have been
playing by the rules, doing everything their government has asked them
to do, and who have been living productive lives in communities in
every State of the Union. As of today, more than 12,000 have lost their
DACA status and protection. Let me tell you about a few of them. Mayron owns three businesses. He
lives in Washington State and has lived in the U.S. since he was 11
years old. His DACA expires on December 22, the day after the CR is set
to expire and the day we are all supposed to go home and return to our
families for the Christmas holiday and New Year's. He submitted his DACA renewal well before the application deadline
that was arbitrarily set for last October. But he made a mistake. His
check was for $465, not $495, so he will be deportable as of December
22. He has lived his entire life in the United States, yet, if
Republicans and the President have their way, he will be sent back to
Honduras. His three businesses and those who work there? Who knows what
will happen to them. Another DACA recipient named Saul is from California. Thanks to the
security and stability provided by DACA, he has pursued a career in
education. I was a teacher, and I know that the monetary rewards are
few, but the rewards for your soul are many, and the rewards to our
society of having dedicated teachers are just as priceless. But without DACA and without the Dream Act, Saul has no future in
teaching, and we may squander the passion he would bring to a
classroom. His DACA expires on December 29, and this is anything but a
Merry Christmas for him as we drag our feet here in the Congress of the
United States. Finally, there is Brittany in New York. She is a childcare provider
who works with infant twins--one of whom has a severe health condition. Her employers are now scrambling because Brittany's DACA expired last
Thursday, and she has no clear legal path forward. The family said: We
are devastated at the thought that she may not be able to work in this
country and know we won't find another caregiver who is as reliable,
nurturing, and unshakeable as Brittany. Most Americans don't understand why taking away legal status from a
childcare provider who is employed, cherished, and loved by her
employers will somehow create law and order. How does creating more
undocumented immigrants help? It doesn't make America great. It doesn't
even strengthen security or our economy.
Keywords matched
immigrants deportable undocumented DACA