Despite what this administration says — and despite what the public might believe — Dreamers are immigration enforcement targets of the federal government. Young immigrants who have grown up in this nation are being detained and deported. And it has to stop.
President Trump has often claimed to support Dreamers — the young people brought to the U.S. as children, raised here and deeply woven into the fabric of American life. He’s said, “We’re going to have to do something with them,” and has at times expressed openness to a legislative solution that would allow Dreamers to become legal residents.
But here’s the truth: if President Trump believes in Dreamers’ futures in America, his administration is not following the wishes of the president. Because in practice, Dreamers are being swept up in the same brutal, indiscriminate dragnet supposedly meant for so-called “dangerous criminals.”
This isn’t an accident. It’s not a misunderstanding. It’s policy. And it’s harmful not only to Dreamers, but to all of our futures.
I’m the chief of staff and government affairs of TheDream.US, the nation’s leading organization supporting Dreamers’ college, career and advocacy goals. Organizations like TheDream.US have seen multiple Dreamers caught in this wide enforcement net. And once DHS identifies someone as a Dreamer — someone who was brought here as a child, who grew up in the U.S., is in school, working, contributing — the system doesn’t show mercy or ask what’s in the best interest of our nation. Instead, it doubles down. It treats them like hardened criminals.
Take Caroline Dias Goncalves as just one example.
She was pulled over in Mesa County, Colorado. The officer knew her story — knew she had come to the U.S. as a child of just seven years old, was raised in Utah and was now studying to become a nurse at the University of Utah as a TheDream.US scholar. She had no criminal record. He didn’t even issue a traffic ticket.
But he still flagged her for ICE — likely in violation of Colorado law. And ICE detained her anyway.
They detained her despite the fact that she had a valid driver’s license, a Social Security number, a work permit and a long, clear record of trying to adjust her status legally under this country’s broken immigration laws.
She was thrown into ICE detention in Aurora, Colorado, and treated like a criminal. She spent more than two harrowing weeks behind bars. She had to pay a bond to be released.
And even after release, she was not made whole. They kept part of her commissary money. They refused to return her identity documents — including her driver’s license and Social Security card.
And worst of all? They strapped a blinking, beeping GPS ankle monitor to her. It needs to be charged several times a day. It’s bulky and clumsy. It’s humiliating. And it is a constant reminder that our government considers her a threat.
Not a college student. Not a future nurse. Not a beloved daughter and friend. Not the young woman who loves to listen to country music and wear cowboy boots. But a criminal.
This is not a glitch in the system. This is the system.
And unfortunately, Caroline’s story is not an isolated one. Other Dreamers — including TheDream.US Scholars like Ximena Arias-Cristobal — are also being targeted, detained and even deported.
Keep in mind, Dreamers have grown up in America — at TheDream.US, our scholars’ average age of arrival to the United States is just four years old. When given the opportunity, Dreamers have thrived: in K-12 Schools; in college; and as teachers, nurses, engineers, entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 employees, as our thousands of alumni make clear. In the process, they make our communities and our economy stronger.
Yet instead of being able to study, succeed and contribute to this nation, Dreamers are now being targeted. They are being punished. And they are being harmed — on purpose.
It doesn’t keep us safer. It doesn’t make our communities stronger. It serves no national purpose.
It destroys young lives. It is cruel. It is immoral. And it is a stain on this country that claims to value hard work, fairness and opportunity.
This has to stop.
Instead of more detentions and deportations, America’s interests and values are better served by delivering education, enforcement protections and permanent legal status for Dreamers. Caroline and countless others in her shoes should not have to live in fear or with tenuous futures in the only home many have ever known.