“Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military?” Apparently, President Trump does, even though he’s the one who posed that question in a Twitter post from 2017.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, was created as a way for undocumented youth to live and work in the United States without the fear of deportation. Brought here by their parents or other relatives as young children, President Trump now claims that many of these undocumented persons are “hardened criminals,” which he uses as his principal argument to terminate the program.
As we know, in order to qualify for DACA, applicants must pass an FBI background check and be free of any criminal charges. Who are the “hardened criminals” President Trump refers to? Not DACA recipients.
I can’t speak for all Dreamers, but I have faith that the vast majority of them are making positive contributions to our society as they work and pursue higher education. They have families, they have dreams, and stripping them of DACA benefits will hurt all of us. We must keep DACA. And if not DACA, then let’s replace it with something even better.
Aubrie Robinson
South Jordan