• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Ending DACA: Too Many Losses For US

Susan Coutin by Susan Coutin
09/07/17
in Featured, Opinion
DACA, protest, dreamers

A protester holds a sign that read 'SHAME' outside the White House in Washington, D.C., during a demonstration against Trump Administration's ending of DACA program.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

President Donald J. Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program with a six-month delay to allow Congress to take action, unnecessarily upends the lives of 800,000 beneficiaries as well as those of millions of others from families to friends who care about them.

DACA was established by President Barack Obama in 2012 after Congress failed to pass the DREAM Act, which would have allowed certain individuals who immigrated to the United States as children to qualify for legal status. And the people who have qualified for the program are essentially Americans because regardless of their legal status, they have strong ties to the U.S. and are members of our communities.

Although Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ remarks rescinding DACA claimed that this program was an overreach of power that undermined the rule of law, in fact, presidents have prosecutorial discretion, that is, the authority to set priorities in determining how law enforcement resources will be used and whether or not to proceed against particular individuals. A November 2014 letter signed by prominent law professors across the country explains, “when prosecutorial discretion is exercised, particularly when the numbers are large, there is no legal barrier to formalizing that policy decision through sound procedures that include a formal application and dissemination of the relevant criteria to the officers charged with implementing the program and to the public.” Previous administrations have also exercised prosecutorial discretion, so DACA merely formalized a previously ad-hoc approach.

As a professor who has done research on immigration issues for decades, I have seen the pride on parents’ faces as their children fill out the forms to qualify for the program, the photos on the pile of elementary, middle school and high school IDs that applicants provide as proof of continuous presence, and the relief that young parents who qualify feel in realizing that they can get better jobs to support their kids.

I have heard the mixture of pride and reticence in my own students’ voices as, during office hours, they tell me that they have DACA. I have listened to young people who I have interviewed for my research describe how the program provided them with the security to go to school, get jobs, speak out on their campuses, contribute to their families’ incomes, and plan for their futures. I have also witnessed the panic and turmoil that occurred as recipients, student activists, and university faculty and administrators realized that a candidate who had pledged to end the program had been elected president.

Unchartered waters

Rescinding DACA with a six-month delay exacerbates this turmoil. It is not clear whether Congress will take action, or what might be approved. Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have introduced legislation that would allow recipients to become lawful permanent residents, but it is unknown whether there is sufficient support for this or similar bills, or whether any effort to extend the program legislatively might be coupled with objectionable measures.

Meanwhile, it is not clear what a six-month delay means for DACA recipients’ ability to study, work, and live in the U.S., either. Mr. Trump’s decision puts recipients at risk of losing jobs, internships, educational opportunities, and the futures that they have pursued. The psychological impact is likely to be extreme as DACA holders experience sorrow, shame, anger, and a sense of betrayal. Recipients and their allies are not likely to passively accept these outcomes. Already there have been mobilizations, rallies, and direct actions in support of the program and immigration rights more generally.

Granting these young people and their families permanent status would provide accountability for U.S. actions that contributed to the circumstances that compelled people to immigrate. U.S. intervention in political conflicts in Central America helped to force thousands out of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, and both the insecurity that has arisen in the wake of Central American wars and the instability caused by U.S. deportation policies have contributed to continued migration.

Moreover, historically, U.S. companies have recruited immigrants into the country as employees. One way to understand the presence of the young people who have applied for DACA is through the famous saying, “We asked for workers, but families came.”

As I contemplate the harm that the suspension of DACA will wreak, I have to ask, what is accomplished and for whom? And why do immigrants once again have to bear the burden of political divisiveness in the U.S.?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
Share9Tweet
Susan Coutin

Susan Coutin

Professor of Criminology, Law and Society and Anthropology at University of California, Irvine.

Related Posts

migrants
Refugees

Hundreds of Rescued Migrants Disembark in Italy’s Sicily

by Staff Writer
December 29, 2021
migrants
Refugees

Four Migrants Dead, 21 Missing Off Coast of Spain

by Staff Writer
October 15, 2021
People holding up banners to defend DACA.
Featured

DACA’s Return and the Need for Action From Incoming Biden-Harris Administration

by Alessandra Bazo Vienrich
December 16, 2020
Demonstrations outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters.
Featured

Forced Hysterectomies in 2020: How Did We Get Here?

by Paola Nicolas and Margaret M. Fabiszak
October 26, 2021
Protestors against Trump's immigration ban.
Featured

With Liberty and Injustice: America’s Policy of Regulating Bodies and Borders

by Stacy Gallin, Eden Wales Freedman, and Amanda M. Caleb
October 26, 2021
Opposition leaders wearing rainbow colors to make a statement at Duda's swearing-in ceremony.
Democracy at Risk

Polish Opposition MPs Wear LGBTQ Flag in Protest Against President Duda

by Josephine Walker
August 6, 2020
Next Post
Trump

How 'Dreamers' Are Ignored: Mockery of Justice, Treachery of Love

iranian zafer caglayan, reza zarrab economy minister sanctions iran scheme bribes

Former Turkish Minister, Zafer Caglayan, Charged With Evading US Sanctions

Recommended

An Iranian protester

Iran’s Nuclear Program: From Its Origins to Today’s Dispute

June 23, 2025
Protesters and police clash during the “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California on June 14, 2025.

US Appeals Court Allows Trump Control of National Guard in LA

June 20, 2025
Donald Trump

Fact vs. Fiction: The Trump Administration’s Dubious War on Reverse Discrimination

June 18, 2025
Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptors light up the sky over Beirut, Lebanon, on June 14, 2025. Iran launched multiple missiles toward Israeli targets, triggering interception attempts above several regional capitals, including Beirut.

Israel-Iran Conflict: Latest Developments

June 18, 2025
Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
An Iranian walking in front of a wall painting of the Iranian flag in Tehran

How Much Damage Has Israel Inflicted on Iran’s Nuclear Program?

June 16, 2025

Opinion

Donald Trump

Fact vs. Fiction: The Trump Administration’s Dubious War on Reverse Discrimination

June 18, 2025
Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
A Black Lives Matter mural in New York City.

Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History

April 2, 2025
Bust of Deputy Rubens Paiva in the Chamber of Deputies

Democratic Brazilians Are Still Here

March 18, 2025
A woman from Guatemala

Dispatch From Central America

January 28, 2025
US President Donald Trump

Dear Trump Supporters: Is This the America You Wanted?

January 28, 2025
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post