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class="md-content"> <div class="md-article-container template-procon"> <div class="infinite-scroll-container article last"> <script> Object.assign( window.Mendel.config, { "infiniteScrollList": [{"p":1,"t":2255855},{"p":1,"t":2127866},{"p":1,"t":283562},{"p":4,"t":574815},{"p":1,"t":2068552},{"p":77,"t":616563},{"p":29,"t":507284},{"p":1,"t":1089023},{"p":3,"t":962023},{"p":2,"t":146289}], "sequence": 1, "topics": {} }); </script> <article class="article-content container-lg qa-content px-0 pt-0 pb-40 py-lg-20 content md-expanded" data-topic-id="2255855"> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate">DACA & the DREAM Act</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#refref-table-2255855"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref-table-2255855">Pros and Cons at a Glance</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref391292"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391292">Pros</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref391293"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391293">Pro 1: DACA is good for Dreamers and U.S. citizens.</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref391294"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391294">Pro 2: Deporting Dreamers is inhumane and cruel.</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref391295"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391295">Pro 3: DACA recipients are vital members of the American workforce.</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref404789"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404789">Pro Quotes</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref391296"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391296">Cons</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref391297"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391297">Con 1: DACA and the Dream Act only encourage more illegal immigration.</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref391298"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391298">Con 2: Amnesty should not be given to law breakers.</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref391299"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391299">Con 3: DACA sets a bad precedent for letting presidents circumvent the legislative branch.</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref404790"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404790">Con Quotes</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref404791"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404791">Who Are Dreamers?</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404792"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404792">Countries of Birth</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404793"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404793">U.S. Place of Residence</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404794"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404794">Gender</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404795"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404795">Age</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404796"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404796">Marital Status</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref404797"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404797">Historical Timeline</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404798"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404798">April 25, 2001 - Representative Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) Introduces Proto-DREAM Act.</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404799"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404799">May 21, 2001 - Representative Chris Cannon (R-UT) Introduces a More Limited Proto-DREAM Act</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404800"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404800">August 1 2001 - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Introduce the DREAM Act</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404801"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404801">April 7, 2006 - DREAM Act Included in Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404802"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404802">May 9, 2007 - DREAM Act Included in Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404803"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404803">October 18, 2007 - Senator Durbin Sponsors DREAM Act</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404804"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404804">March 26, 2009 - Bipartisan Group from Both Houses Reintroduce DREAM Act</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404805"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404805">September 22, 2010 - DREAM Act Reintroduced by Dick Durbin</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404806"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404806">May 10, 2011 - President Barack Obama Called for Comprehensive Immigration Reform</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404807"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404807">May 11, 2011 - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) Reintroduces the DREAM Act</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404808"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404808">July and October 2011 - California DREAM Act Signed into Law</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404809"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404809">June 15, 2012 - Obama Announces DACA</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404810"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404810">June 15, 2012 - Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano Establishes DACA as Policy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404811"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404811">August 15, 2012 - March 19, 2018 - <em>Arizona Dream Act Coalition (ADAC)</em> v. <em>Brewer</em></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404812"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404812">November 20, 2014 - Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson Expands DACA and Announces DAPA</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404813"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404813">April 7, 2015:  <em>Crane</em> v. <em>Johnson</em></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404814"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404814">August 14, 2015: <em>Arpaio</em> v. <em>Obama</em></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404815"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404815">June 23, 2016 - <em>United States</em> v. <em>Texas</em></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404816"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404816">September 4, 2017 - Attorney General Directs Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to Rescind DACA</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404817"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404817">September 5, 2017 - Acting Secretary of DHS Elaine C. Duke Rescinds DACA</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404818"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404818">January 9, 2018 - Court Injunction Requires DHS to Continue DACA</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404819"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404819">February 13, 2018 - June 18, 2020 - <em>Dept. of Homeland Security, et al.</em>, v. <em>Regents of the University of California, et al</em></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404820"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404820">Mar. 27, 2020 - Lawyers Argue Dreamers Are Essential during Covid-19 Pandemic</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404821"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404821">July 28, 2020 - December 4, 2020 - The “Wolf Memo” Seeks to Limit DACA</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404822"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404822">January 20, 2021 - Biden Issues Day One Memo to Protect DACA</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404823"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404823">July 16, 2021 - September 13, 2023 - <em>State of Texas, et al.</em>, v. <em>United States of America, et al.</em></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404824"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404824">August 24, 2022 - DHS Codfies DACA</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404825"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404825">October 5, 2022 - U.S. Court of Appeals Says DACA Is Illegal</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404826"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404826">May 3, 2024 - December 23, 2024 - DACA Recipients Declared Eligible, then Ineligible, for Obamacare</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref404827"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404827">January 17, 2025 - DACA Ruled Unlawful Again</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref391300"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391300">Discussion Questions</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref391301"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391301">Take Action</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref391302"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391302">Sources</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate">Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/17/227417-050-6937025E/Protesters-support-dreamers-pro-DACA-rally-University-of-Michigan-Ann-Arbor-Michigan-September-8-2017.jpg" data-href="/media/1/2255855/268467" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/17/227417-004-CD9FF12D/Protesters-support-dreamers-pro-DACA-rally-University-of-Michigan-Ann-Arbor-Michigan-September-8-2017.jpg" alt="DACA supporters" height="50" /> </a> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-read-next"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> Read Next </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/story/pro-and-con-daca-and-the-dream-act"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/17/227417-131-0F79BDEF/Protesters-support-dreamers-pro-DACA-rally-University-of-Michigan-Ann-Arbor-Michigan-September-8-2017.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Protesters show their support for dreamers at a pro - 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The DREAM Act would have implemented similar policies as DACA but via legislation passed by Congress and not instituted by a presidential executive order. (Executive orders can be more easily reversed than Congressional legislation.) <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-1">[1]</a><a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-2">[2]</a></p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In order to qualify for DACA, undocumented immigrants are required to meet certain criteria. They must:</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><ul><li><div>be under 31 years old as of June 15, 2012</div></li><li><div>have come to the United States before their 16th birthday</div></li><li><div>have lived in the United States continuously from June 15, 2007, to the present</div></li><li><div>have been physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of application</div></li><li><div>have come to the United States without documents before June 15, 2012, or have had their lawful status expire as of June 15, 2012</div></li><li><div>be in school, have graduated from high school or earned a GED, or have been honorably discharged from the Coast Guard or military</div></li><li><div>have not been convicted of a felony or “significant misdemeanors” (such as DUI), or three or more misdemeanors of any kind</div></li></ul><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Enrollment in the program requires renewal every two years. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-1">[1]</a></p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">A 2023 Data for Progress poll found that 56 percent of American voters opposed ending DACA while 36 percent were in favor of terminating the program. A 2024 National Immigration Forum and Bullfinch Group survey found 68 percent supported bipartisan legislation with a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/procon/immigration-debate" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">path to citizenship</a> for Dreamers. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-52">[52]</a><a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-53">[53]</a></p><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">For specific dates in DACA history, see the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref404797" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">ProCon Historical Timeline</a> below.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">For more on the immigration debate in the United States, visit ProCon’s examinations of <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://immigration.procon.org/" data-show-preview="true">immigration</a> and <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.procon.org/headlines/sanctuary-cities-top-3-pros-and-cons/" data-show-preview="true">sanctuary cites</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span></section><section class="summary"><h2 class="h1" id="ref-table-2255855">Pros and Cons at a Glance</h2><table class="pro-con"><thead><tr><th>PROS</th><th>CONS</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Pro 1: DACA is good for Dreamers and U.S. citizens. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391293">Read More.</a></td><td>Con 1: DACA and the Dream Act only encourage more illegal immigration. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391297">Read More.</a></td></tr><tr><td>Pro 2: Deporting Dreamers is inhumane and cruel. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391294">Read More.</a></td><td>Con 2: Amnesty should not be given to law breakers. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391298">Read More.</a></td></tr><tr><td>Pro 3: DACA recipients are vital members of the American workforce. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391295">Read More.</a></td><td>Con 3: DACA sets a bad precedent for letting presidents circumvent the legislative branch. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391299">Read More.</a></td></tr></tbody></table></section><section id="ref391292"><div class="mb-15"><h2 class="h1 d-inline-block mb-0">Pro Arguments </h2> <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391296">(Go to Con Arguments)</a></div><section class="pro" id="ref391293"> <h2 class="h2">Pro 1: DACA is good for Dreamers and U.S. citizens.</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">An October 7, 2024 study of DACA recipients in Los Angeles found that the program led to lower high school drop-out rates among male students, higher high school graduation rates overall, and increased effort and motivation to do well in school (supported by an increase in test scores) for undocumented immigrant youth. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-50">[50]</a></p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Plus, “at the average high school campus, where 3.4 percent of students were likely undocumented, DACA’s introduction resulted in a two-percentage-point (or four percent) increase in U.S.-born students’ probability of high school completion. U.S.-born students also experienced an increase in ELA achievement (0.06 standard deviations) after DACA’s enactment.” Meaning, DACA is a win-win both for undocumented youth<em>and</em> U.S. citizen youth. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-50">[50]</a></p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Benjamin Harris, former chief economist and economic advisor to then-Vice President Joe Biden, stated: “Individuals eligible for the DACA program tend to be higher-skilled than their ineligible counterparts, simply because the typical DACA-eligible immigrant arrived in the America at age six and was educated in the U.S. Put differently, sending DACA participants back to their home countries would be a waste of billions in human capital already invested in the young immigrants.” <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-9">[9]</a></p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> </section><section class="pro" id="ref391294"> <h2 class="h2">Pro 2: Deporting Dreamers is inhumane and cruel.</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Arriving at a median age of six years old, many Dreamers do not remember life in their birth countries, have not met family members in those countries, and do not speak the native language fluently. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-15">[15]</a></p><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD12 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">President Barack Obama, responding to President Donald Trump’s plan to end DACA, stated, “To target these young people is wrong…It is self-defeating—because they want to start new businesses, staff our labs, serve in our military, and otherwise contribute to the country we love. And it is cruel. What if our kid’s science teacher, or our friendly neighbor turns out to be a Dreamer? Where are we supposed to send her? To a country she doesn’t know or remember, with a language she may not even speak?” <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-16">[16]</a></p><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD13 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Many DACA recipients are well-integrated into families, communities, schools, and workplaces throughout the country. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-7">[7]</a></p><span class="marker MOD13 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD14 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Thiru Vignarajah, former deputy attorney of Maryland, stated, “to deport immigrants raised in America since they were children for the supposed sins of their parents is the definition of cruel and unusual punishment—expelling a person to a country they do not know because of a decision they did not make is as spiteful as it is bizarre.” <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-17">[17]</a></p><span class="marker MOD14 mod-inline"></span> </section><section class="pro" id="ref391295"> <h2 class="h2">Pro 3: DACA recipients are vital members of the American workforce.</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD15 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said that 900 DACA recipients were serving in the U.S. military and 20,000 were schoolteachers, including 190 Dreamers in the Teach for America program. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-35">[35]</a><a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-36">[36]</a></p><span class="marker MOD15 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD16 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The Association of American Medical Colleges said in October 2019 that the U.S. health care system would be caught unprepared to fill the void left by deported Dreamers. Lawyers for Dreamers seeking to uphold the program wrote, “Healthcare providers on the frontlines of our nation’s fight against COVID-19 rely significantly upon DACA recipients to perform essential work. Approximately 27,000 DACA recipients are healthcare workers—including nurses, dentists, pharmacists, physician assistants, home health aides, technicians, and other staff—and nearly 200 are medical students, residents, and physicians.” <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-31">[31]</a></p><span class="marker MOD16 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD17 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Furthermore, 21,000 DACA recipients worked in transportation and warehousing, 32,800 in retail including pharmacies and supermarkets, 14,500 worked in manufacturing, and 13,000 in support and waste management services. Along with healthcare workers, that’s a lot of undocumented immigrants who helped the country run during the pandemic and continue to do so years later. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-51">[51]</a></p><span class="marker MOD17 mod-inline"></span> </section></section><span class="marker h3"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref404789"> <h2 class="h1">Pro Quotes</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD18 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Emiliana, a DACA recipient from California, stated:</p><span class="marker MOD18 mod-inline"></span> <blockquote> <p>I was six years old when I immigrated to the United States. Thanks to DACA, I was able to go to the University of California, Irvine for my bachelor’s in psychology and social behavior and be part of the UCI DREAM Center which fueled my passion to keep working for the community after graduating college. I am more than my undocumented identity. Everything I have accomplished wasn’t handed to me. I have worked hard to achieve my goals and career path. DACA allowed me to take space in professional settings that my little girl self sometimes finds hard to believe. Without it, my educational process would be stopped alongside my professional career. When a decision is made about DACA, the narratives of the community need to be heard and considered because we know how powerful and unique our journeys are more than anyone else. Our stories, our contributions, homes, careers, and most importantly, our humanity must be uplifted.</p> <p>—United We Dream, “As Trump Takes Office, DACA Recipients Speak Out: We Remember Your Attacks on DACA & We Won’t Back Down on the Fight to Stay in Our Home!,” unitedwedream.org, Jan. 20, 2025</p> </blockquote> <span class="marker PREMOD21 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Laurence Benenson, vice president of policy & advocacy at the National Immigration Forum, stated:</p><span class="marker MOD21 mod-inline"></span> <blockquote> <p>Dreamers have been here for many years and make vital contributions to our communities. American citizens depend on Dreamers. They serve in our military. They contribute to our economy and communities as teachers, health care providers, neighbors, co-congregants, and more. Together with their families, they make our nation a better place.</p> <p>Dreamers help the American economy and serve in the military. Over the next 10 years, Dreamers who currently have DACA will contribute an estimated $420 billion to the GDP, $60 billion in fiscal impact, and $12.3 billion in taxes to Social Security and Medicare if they can continue to work legally in the U.S.</p> <p>Over 900 DACA recipients [with] valuable language and medical skills have enlisted in the military under the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) Pilot Program.</p> <p>—Laurence Benenson, “Fact Sheet: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),” immigrationforum.org, May 21, 2024</p> </blockquote> </section><section id="ref391296"><div class="mb-15" id=""><h2 class="h1 d-inline-block mb-0">Con Arguments</h2> <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#ref391292">(Go to Pro Arguments)</a></div><section class="con" id="ref391297"> <h2 class="h2">Con 1: DACA and the Dream Act only encourage more illegal immigration.</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD26 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Former congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) said that DACA “encouraged more illegal immigration and contributed to the surge of unaccompanied minors and families seeking to enter the U.S. illegally.” <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-10">[10]</a></p><span class="marker MOD26 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD27 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">According to Karl Eschbach, adjunct professor at The University of Texas Medical Branch, DACA will increase the undocumented population because those who don’t qualify for DACA will stay in the hopes of qualifying eventually, and more people will immigrate assuming coverage by DACA or a similar program. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-13">[13]</a></p><span class="marker MOD27 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD28 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Lamar Smith (R-TX) stated, “The <em>Dream Act</em> will only encourage more illegal immigration. One only needs to look at history to see how amnesty has played out in the past. The 1986 amnesty legislation legalized about three million illegal immigrants. But rather than put an end to illegal immigration, the amnesty only encouraged more.” <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-14">[14]</a></p><span class="marker MOD28 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD29 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">History bears this out: the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) included the legalization of about three million undocumented immigrants. Following the act’s implementation, between 1990 and 2007, the population of unauthorized immigrants in the United States shot up to 500,000 per year, peaking at 12.2 million. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-33">[33]</a><a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-34">[34]</a></p><span class="marker MOD29 mod-inline"></span> </section><section class="con" id="ref391298"> <h2 class="h2">Con 2: Amnesty should not be given to law breakers.</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD30 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">A country fairly enforcing its own laws is not cruel. David Benkoff, senior policy analyst at <em>The Daily Caller</em> noted that Dreamers are “victims of their parents…[and] it’s stunningly callous and cruel that they would knowingly subject their own children to such risks.” <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-18">[18]</a></p><span class="marker MOD30 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD31 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Dreamers have already broken the law by crossing the border illegally and remaining in the country without documentation. The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) stated that many Dreamers also commit work-related crimes such as Social Security fraud, forgery, perjury on I-9 employment forms, and falsification of ID cards. Since 2012, 1,500 Dreamers have lost their DACA status because of gang involvement or other criminal activity. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-20">[20]</a><a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-21">[21]</a></p><span class="marker MOD31 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD32 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Dreamers are only disqualified if they are convicted of a crime, which according to CIS author Ronald W. Mortensen, means that “Dreamer gang-bangers, Dreamer identity thieves, Dreamer sexual predators, Dreamers who haven’t paid income taxes, and Dreamers committing a wide range of other crimes all qualify for DACA status as long as they haven’t been convicted of their crimes.” <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-20">[20]</a></p><span class="marker MOD32 mod-inline"></span> </section><section class="con" id="ref391299"> <h2 class="h2">Con 3: DACA sets a bad precedent for letting presidents circumvent the legislative branch.</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD33 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">President Trump noted in his announcement to rescind DACA that President Obama knew he shouldn’t make immigration policy unilaterally, “and yet that is exactly what he did, making an end-run around Congress and violating the core tenets that sustain our Republic.” <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-38">[38]</a></p><span class="marker MOD33 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD34 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">U.S. presidents shouldn’t be able to set legislative policy by executive orders; rather they should seek approval from Congress in accordance with the Constitution. <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-39">[39]</a></p><span class="marker MOD34 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD35 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">According to Elizabeth Murrill, solicitor general of Louisiana, “No matter one’s views on the policy principles motivating DACA, we should all be able to agree that the executive cannot legislate by fiat….The core of DACA’s substantive unlawfulness is its grant of ‘lawful presence’ to hundreds of thousands of aliens whom Congress has declared to be unlawfully present.” <a href="/procon/DACA-and-the-DREAM-Act-debate#pcref-2255855-40">[40]</a></p><span class="marker MOD35 mod-inline"></span> </section></section><span class="marker h5"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref404790"> <h2 class="h1">Con Quotes</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD36 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, joined by other Texas officials and lawyers, stated:</p><span class="marker MOD36 mod-inline"></span> <blockquote> <p>The DACA Rule … violates the Constitution’s Take Care Clause. Presidents cannot exercise legislative power—and they certainly cannot dispense with statutes addressing unlawful presence by declaring an entire class of aliens to henceforth be present lawfully. Yet the Executive did just that through DACA, dispensing with Congress’s carefully delineated immigration policies for its own preferred legal regime....</p> <p>In DACA, the President has dispensed with Congress’s carefully delineated immigration policies in favor of its own preferred legal regime …. The President then used this putative dispensation to grant a pathway to citizenship. …. The President did this by treating DACA recipients as eligible for advance parole, which allowed the program to function as a pathway to permanent legal residence and citizenship. Because DACA dispenses with the law in violation of the Take Care Clause, it is unconstitutional and “shall” be “h[e]ld unlawful and set aside.”</p> <p>—Justice Action Center Litigation Tracker, “Texas’s Brief on Appeal (PDF) (04/09/2024),” litigationtracker.justiceactioncenter.org, Apr. 9, 2024</p> </blockquote> <span class="marker PREMOD40 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Attorneys General for the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia stated:</p><span class="marker MOD40 mod-inline"></span> <blockquote> <p>Congress created “an intricate statutory scheme for determining which classes of aliens may receive lawful presence, discretionary relief from removal, deferred action, and work authorization” ….</p> <p>Congress specifically defined classes of aliens who are eligible for deferred action and discretionary relief from removal .… In addition, Congress enacted immigration classifications for lawful and unlawful presence …. Congress also allowed for work authorization for specific categories of illegal aliens ....</p> <p>Congress never gave the Executive Branch permission to sidestep this carefully crafted, intricate, and extensive statutory scheme and create new classes of aliens eligible for deferred action protecting them from removal. Nor did Congress permit unlawfully present aliens to be lawfully present, much less allow such unlawfully present aliens to obtain attendant benefits and work authorization simply because the Executive chooses not to remove them. But that is precisely what Defendants did in the DACA Memorandum.”</p> <p>—States of Alabama and Texas, “Case 1:18-cv-00068 Document 625-1 Filed on 01/31/23 in TXSD,” storage.courtlistener.com, Jan. 31, 2023</p> </blockquote> </section><span class="marker h6"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref404791"> <h2 class="h1">Who Are Dreamers?</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD45 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Dreamers are the 537,730 DACA recipients, who are protected from deportation if they meet the requirements of the program.</p><span class="marker MOD45 mod-inline"></span> <section data-level="2" id="ref404792"> <h2 class="h2">Countries of Birth</h2> <div class="md-drag md-table-wrapper"><table> <caption>Countries of Birth</caption> <thead> <tr> <th>Country</th> <th>Number of Dreamers</th> </tr> </thead> <tfoot> <tr> <td colspan="2">Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Active DACA Recipients – (Fiscal Year 2024, Quarter 4),” uscis.gov, Dec. 16, 2024</td> </tr> </tfoot> <tbody> <tr> <td>Mexico</td> <td>436,300</td> </tr> <tr> <td>El Salvador</td> <td>21,260</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Guatemala</td> <td>14,370</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Honduras</td> <td>13,230</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Peru</td> <td>4,850</td> </tr> <tr> <td>South Korea</td> <td>4,700</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Brazil</td> <td>3,960</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ecuador</td> <td>3,700</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Colombia</td> <td>3,100</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Argentina</td> <td>2,570</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Philippines</td> <td>2,480</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Jamaica</td> <td>1,770</td> </tr> <tr> <td>India</td> <td>1,620</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Venezuela</td> <td>1,610</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Dominican Republic</td> <td>1,440</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Uruguay</td> <td>1,300</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Bolivia</td> <td>1,120</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Trinidad and Tobago</td> <td>1,110</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Nicaragua</td> <td>1,060</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Costa Rica</td> <td>1,010</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Chile</td> <td>950</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Pakistan</td> <td>830</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Poland</td> <td>820</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Nigeria</td> <td>730</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Guyana</td> <td>610</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Belize</td> <td>530</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Indonesia</td> <td>520</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Canada</td> <td>520</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Kenya</td> <td>450</td> </tr> <tr> <td>China</td> <td>400</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Bangladesh</td> <td>330</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mongolia</td> <td>320</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ghana</td> <td>320</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Portugal</td> <td>310</td> </tr> <tr> <td>United Kingdom</td> <td>300</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Not available</td> <td>290</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Panama</td> <td>280</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Italy</td> <td>250</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The Bahamas</td> <td>200</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Israel</td> <td>200</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Albania</td> <td>190</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Taiwan</td> <td>150</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Saint Lucia</td> <td>150</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Paraguay</td> <td>140</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Jordan</td> <td>140</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Germany</td> <td>140</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Zambia</td> <td>130</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Unknown</td> <td>130</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Thailand</td> <td>130</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Republic of Turkiye</td> <td>130</td> </tr> <tr> <td>South Africa</td> <td>120</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Saudi Arabia</td> <td>120</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Hong Kong</td> <td>120</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Egypt</td> <td>120</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Armenia</td> <td>120</td> </tr> <tr> <td>United Arab Emirates</td> <td>110</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Haiti</td> <td>110</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ukraine</td> <td>100</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Malaysia</td> <td>100</td> </tr> <tr> <td>France</td> <td>100</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Zimbabwe</td> <td>90</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Sri Lanka</td> <td>90</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Senegal</td> <td>90</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Russia</td> <td>90</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Lithuania</td> <td>90</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Japan</td> <td>90</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Cameroon</td> <td>90</td> </tr> <tr> <td>United States</td> <td>80</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The Gambia</td> <td>80</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Saint Vincent and the Grenadines</td> <td>80</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Romania</td> <td>80</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Morocco</td> <td>80</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Korea</td> <td>80</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Grenada</td> <td>80</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Suriname</td> <td>70</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Spain</td> <td>70</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Sierra Leone</td> <td>70</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Lebanon</td> <td>70</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Greece</td> <td>70</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tanzania</td> <td>60</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Malawi</td> <td>60</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Hungary</td> <td>60</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Fiji</td> <td>60</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Cote d’Ivoire</td> <td>60</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Barbados</td> <td>60</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Uganda</td> <td>50</td> </tr> <tr> <td>North Macedonia</td> <td>50</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Czech Repubic</td> <td>50</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Vietnam</td> <td>40</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tonga</td> <td>40</td> </tr> <tr> <td>New Zealand</td> <td>40</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Nepal</td> <td>40</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Montenegro</td> <td>40</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Kuwait</td> <td>40</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Iran</td> <td>40</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Cambodia</td> <td>40</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Cabo Verde</td> <td>40</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Bulgaria</td> <td>40</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Antigua and Barbuda</td> <td>40</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Uzbekistan</td> <td>30</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Turks and Caicos Islands</td> <td>30</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Singapore</td> <td>30</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Samoa</td> <td>30</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Norfolk Island</td> <td>30</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Netherlands</td> <td>30</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mali</td> <td>30</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ethiopia</td> <td>30</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Democratic Republic of the Congo</td> <td>30</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Australia</td> <td>30</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Angola</td> <td>30</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Togo</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Sweden</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Slovakia</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Serbia</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Saint Kitts and Nevis</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Republic of the Congo</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Qatar</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Liberia</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Gabon</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Estonia</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>British Virgin Islands</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Botswana</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Belgium</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Bahrain</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Austria</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Yugoslavia</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Yemen</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Syria</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Switzerland</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>State of Palestine</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Soviet Union</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Somalia</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Slovenia</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Sint Maarten</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Oman</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Niger</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Netherlands Antilles</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Namibia</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Montserrat</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Moldova</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Madagascar</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Macau</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Luxembourg</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Libya</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Lesotho</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Latvia</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Laos</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Kyrgyzstan</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Kazakhstan</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ireland</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Iraq</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Georgia</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Denmark</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Croatia</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Cayman Islands</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Burundi</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Burkina Faso</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Bermuda</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Benin</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Belarus</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Azerbaijan</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Algeria</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Afghanistan</td> <td>10</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404793"> <h2 class="h2">U.S. Place of Residence</h2> <div class="md-drag md-table-wrapper"><table> <caption>U.S. Place of Residence</caption> <thead> <tr> <th>U.S. Jurisdiction</th> <th>Number of Dreamers</th> </tr> </thead> <tfoot> <tr> <td colspan="2">Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Active DACA Recipients – (Fiscal Year 2024, Quarter 4),” uscis.gov, Dec. 16, 2024</td> </tr> </tfoot> <tbody> <tr> <td>California</td> <td>151,060</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Texas</td> <td>89,960</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Illinois</td> <td>28,420</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Florida</td> <td>21,280</td> </tr> <tr> <td>New York</td> <td>21,270</td> </tr> <tr> <td>North Carolina</td> <td>20,660</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Arizona</td> <td>20,230</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Georgia</td> <td>17,680</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Washington</td> <td>13,630</td> </tr> <tr> <td>New Jersey</td> <td>13,020</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Colorado</td> <td>12,030</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Nevada</td> <td>10,490</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Oregon</td> <td>7,970</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Virginia</td> <td>7,830</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Indiana</td> <td>7,620</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Utah</td> <td>7,090</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Maryland</td> <td>6,730</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tennessee</td> <td>6,600</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wisconsin</td> <td>5,440</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Oklahoma</td> <td>5,290</td> </tr> <tr> <td>South Carolina</td> <td>5,100</td> </tr> <tr> <td>New Mexico</td> <td>4,500</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Kansas</td> <td>4,460</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Michigan</td> <td>4,430</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Massachusetts</td> <td>4,410</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Minnesota</td> <td>4,330</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Pennsylvania</td> <td>3,940</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Arkansas</td> <td>3,770</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Alabama</td> <td>3,610</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ohio</td> <td>3,460</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Connecticut</td> <td>2,960</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Missouri</td> <td>2,620</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Nebraska</td> <td>2,460</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Idaho</td> <td>2,340</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Kentucky</td> <td>2,300</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Iowa</td> <td>2,060</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Louisiana</td> <td>1,410</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mississippi</td> <td>1,150</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Delaware</td> <td>1,140</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Rhode Island</td> <td>740</td> </tr> <tr> <td>District Of Columbia</td> <td>480</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wyoming</td> <td>410</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Hawaii</td> <td>340</td> </tr> <tr> <td>New Hampshire</td> <td>230</td> </tr> <tr> <td>South Dakota</td> <td>200</td> </tr> <tr> <td>West Virginia</td> <td>130</td> </tr> <tr> <td>North Dakota</td> <td>130</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Montana</td> <td>90</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Alaska</td> <td>60</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Maine</td> <td>60</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Puerto Rico</td> <td>50</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Virgin Islands</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Not available</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Vermont</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Northern Marianas Island</td> <td>10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Guam</td> <td>10</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404794"> <h2 class="h2">Gender</h2> <div class="md-drag md-table-wrapper"><table> <caption>Gender</caption> <thead> <tr> <th>Gender</th> <th>Number of Dreamers</th> </tr> </thead> <tfoot> <tr> <td colspan="2">Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Active DACA Recipients – (Fiscal Year 2024, Quarter 4),” uscis.gov, Dec. 16, 2024</td> </tr> </tfoot> <tbody> <tr> <td>Female</td> <td>290,170</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Male</td> <td>246,720</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Not Available</td> <td>840</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404795"> <h2 class="h2">Age</h2> <div class="md-drag md-table-wrapper"><table> <caption>Age</caption> <thead> <tr> <th>Age</th> <th>Number of Dreamers</th> </tr> </thead> <tfoot> <tr> <td colspan="2">Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Active DACA Recipients – (Fiscal Year 2024, Quarter 4),” uscis.gov, Dec. 16, 2024</td> </tr> </tfoot> <tbody> <tr> <td>17-20</td> <td>1,000</td> </tr> <tr> <td>21-25</td> <td>87,060</td> </tr> <tr> <td>26-30</td> <td>197,460</td> </tr> <tr> <td>31-35</td> <td>151,060</td> </tr> <tr> <td>36-40</td> <td>84,430</td> </tr> <tr> <td>41-43</td> <td>16,690</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404796"> <h2 class="h2">Marital Status</h2> <div class="md-drag md-table-wrapper"><table> <caption></caption> <thead> <tr> <th>Marital Status</th> <th>Number of Dreamers</th> </tr> </thead> <tfoot> <tr> <td colspan="2">Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Active DACA Recipients – (Fiscal Year 2024, Quarter 4),” uscis.gov, Dec. 16, 2024</td> </tr> </tfoot> <tbody> <tr> <td>Single</td> <td>362,080</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Married</td> <td>158,690</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Divorced</td> <td>15,270</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Widowed</td> <td>670</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Not available</td> <td>1,030</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> </section> </section><span class="marker h7"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref404797"> <h2 class="h1">Historical Timeline</h2> <section data-level="2" id="ref404798"> <h2 class="h2">April 25, 2001 - Representative Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) Introduces Proto-DREAM Act.</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD46 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/house-bill/1582" data-show-preview="true">Immigrant Children’s Educational Advancement and Dropout Prevention Act of 2001 would have adjusted the residency status of undocumented college students.</a></p><span class="marker MOD46 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD47 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Congress.gov, “H.R.1582...,” congress.gov (accessed Jan. 23, 2025)</p><span class="marker MOD47 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404799"> <h2 class="h2">May 21, 2001 - Representative Chris Cannon (R-UT) Introduces a More Limited Proto-DREAM Act</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD48 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The content of <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/house-bill/1918" data-show-preview="true">the bill</a> was similar to the one Representative Gutiérrez introduced a month earlier, but changed a few requirements including lowering the maximum age to 21.</p><span class="marker MOD48 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD49 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Congress.gov, “H.R.1918...,” congress.gov (accessed Jan. 23, 2025)</p><span class="marker MOD49 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404800"> <h2 class="h2">August 1 2001 - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Introduce the DREAM Act</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD50 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/senate-bill/1291/summary/00" data-show-preview="true">Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act</a> (DREAM Act) would have amended the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to allow undocumented immigrants to be eligible for higher education benefits based on state residence. The act would have also prevented the deportation of college-enrolled undocumented immigrants under the age of 21 and changed their status to “conditional permanent resident.”</p><span class="marker MOD50 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD51 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Congress.gov, “S.1291 - DREAM Act,” congress.gov (accessed Jan. 23, 2025)</p><span class="marker MOD51 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404801"> <h2 class="h2">April 7, 2006 - DREAM Act Included in Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD52 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/senate-bill/2611" data-show-preview="true">Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006</a>, and thus the DREAM Act, did not pass Congress.</p><span class="marker MOD52 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD53 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Congress.gov, “S.2611 - Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006,” congress.gov (accessed Jan. 23, 2025)</p><span class="marker MOD53 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404802"> <h2 class="h2">May 9, 2007 - DREAM Act Included in Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD54 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/senate-bill/1348" data-show-preview="true">Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007</a>, and thus the DREAM Act, did not pass Congress.</p><span class="marker MOD54 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD55 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Congress.gov, “S.2611 - Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006,” congress.gov (accessed Jan. 23, 2025)</p><span class="marker MOD55 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404803"> <h2 class="h2">October 18, 2007 - Senator Durbin Sponsors DREAM Act</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD56 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The act would have “authorize[d] the Secretary of Homeland Security to cancel the removal of, and adjust to conditional permanent resident status, an alien who: (1) entered the United States before his or her sixteenth birthday, and has been present in the United States for at least five years immediately preceding enactment of this Act; (2) is a person of good moral character; (3) is not inadmissible or deportable under specified grounds of the Immigration and Nationality Act; (4) at the time of application, has been admitted to an institution of higher education, or has earned a high school or equivalent diploma; (5) from the age of 16 and older, has never been under a final order of exclusion, deportation, or removal; and (6) is under 30 years old on the date of enactment of this Act.”</p><span class="marker MOD56 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD57 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The act did not pass Congress.</p><span class="marker MOD57 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD58 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Congress.gov, “S.2205...,” congress.gov (accessed Jan. 23, 2025)</p><span class="marker MOD58 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404804"> <h2 class="h2">March 26, 2009 - Bipartisan Group from Both Houses Reintroduce DREAM Act</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD59 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">With <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/senate-bill/729/cosponsors" data-show-preview="true">40 cosponsors</a> from both sides of the aisle, the bill still failed the pass Congress.</p><span class="marker MOD59 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD60 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Congress.gov, “S.729...,” congress.gov (accessed Jan. 23, 2025)</p><span class="marker MOD60 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404805"> <h2 class="h2">September 22, 2010 - DREAM Act Reintroduced by Dick Durbin</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD61 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Even with bipartisan co-sponsors, the bill still failed Congress.</p><span class="marker MOD61 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD62 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Congress.gov, “S.3827...,” congress.gov (accessed Jan. 23, 2025)</p><span class="marker MOD62 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404806"> <h2 class="h2">May 10, 2011 - President Barack Obama Called for Comprehensive Immigration Reform</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD63 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Obama said to an audience in El Paso, Texas:</p><span class="marker MOD63 mod-inline"></span> <blockquote> <p>So one way to strengthen the middle class in America is to reform the immigration system so that there is no longer a massive underground economy that exploits a cheap source of labor while depressing wages for everybody else. I want incomes for middle-class families to rise again. I want prosperity in this country to be widely shared. I want everybody to be able to reach that American dream. And that’s why immigration reform is an economic imperative. It’s an economic imperative.</p> </blockquote> <span class="marker PREMOD65 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—The White House of President Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on Comprehensive Immigration Reform in El Paso, Texas,” obamawhitehouse.archived.gov, May 10, 2011</p><span class="marker MOD65 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404807"> <h2 class="h2">May 11, 2011 - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) Reintroduces the DREAM Act</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD66 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The act, similar to the other iterations, would provide a path to citizenship for students and those enrolled in the military who were brought to the country as children. The bill did not pass Congress.</p><span class="marker MOD66 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD67 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Karoun Demirjian, “Harry Reid Reintroduces the DREAM Act,” lasvegassun.com, May 11, 2011</p><span class="marker MOD67 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404808"> <h2 class="h2">July and October 2011 - California DREAM Act Signed into Law</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD68 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB130" data-show-preview="true">AB 130</a> was signed into law on July 25, 2011 and <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB131" data-show-preview="true">AB 131</a> was signed on Oct. 8, 2011 by Governor Jerry Brown. The laws allow undocumented students to access financial aid for college.</p><span class="marker MOD68 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD69 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Immigrants Rising, “CA DREAM Act Overview,” immigrantsrising.org (accessed Jan. 23, 2025)</p><span class="marker MOD69 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404809"> <h2 class="h2">June 15, 2012 - Obama Announces DACA</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD70 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">With Congress not passing a law, the Obama administration relied on an executive action to accomplish their immigration goals to stop enforcing deportation laws for a select group. Obama stated, “This is not amnesty. This is not immunity. This is not a path to citizenship. It’s not a permanent fix. This is a temporary stopgap measure.”</p><span class="marker MOD70 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD71 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Tom Choen, “Obama Administration to Stop Deporting Some Young Illegal Immigrants,” cnn.com, June 16, 2012</p><span class="marker MOD71 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404810"> <h2 class="h2">June 15, 2012 - Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano Establishes DACA as Policy</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD72 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Napolitano issued “<a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/s1-exercising-prosecutorial-discretion-individuals-who-came-to-us-as-children.pdf" data-show-preview="true">Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children</a>,” which established prosecutorial discretion for ICE, CBP, and CIS when dealing with undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. before they turned 16, have lived in the U.S. for the prior five years, are in school (or have a diploma or certificate) or has been honorably discharged from the U.S. military, has not been convicted of a felony or serious misdemeanor, and is not older than 30.</p><span class="marker MOD72 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD73 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The memo indicates that ICE should defer action for two years for individuals meeting the above criteria.</p><span class="marker MOD73 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD74 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children,” dhs.gov, June 15, 2012</p><span class="marker MOD74 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404811"> <h2 class="h2">August 15, 2012 - March 19, 2018 - <em>Arizona Dream Act Coalition (ADAC)</em> v. <em>Brewer</em></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD75 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">On Aug. 15, 2012, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer issued an executive order barring Dreamers from obtaining Arizona driver’s licenses. The order was implemented on Sept. 18, 2012, by the Arizona DMV.</p><span class="marker MOD75 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD76 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In Nov. 2012, the Arizona Dream Act Coalition—a group of organizations including the ACLU, the ACLU of Arizona, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF)—sued Brewer, arguing that the order violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.</p><span class="marker MOD76 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD77 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In Sept. 2013, Brewer expanded the executive order to include everyone who had been granted deferred action.</p><span class="marker MOD77 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD78 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In July 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that the executive order was illegal and blocked the order. Efforts to revive the license policy were rejected.</p><span class="marker MOD78 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD79 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In Jan. 2015, the executive order was permanently blocked by a federal court. And, on Apr. 5, 2016, the <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2016/04/05/15-15307.pdf" data-show-preview="true">Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals</a> affirmed the ruling.</p><span class="marker MOD79 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD80 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Arizona filed a petition for a <em><a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/brewer-v-arizona-dream-act-coalition/" data-show-preview="true">writ of certiorari</a></em> (a request for review) to the U.S. Supreme Court on Mar. 29, 2017. The court denied the petition on Mar. 19, 2018, meaning the court refused to hear the case and allowed the lower court ruling to stand.</p><span class="marker MOD80 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD81 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—ACLU, “Arizona Dream Act Coalition, et al v. Brewer,” aclu.org. Apr. 5, 2016</p><span class="marker MOD81 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD82 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—SCOTUSblog, “Brewer v. Arizona Dream Act Coalition,” scotusblog.com, Mar. 19, 2018</p><span class="marker MOD82 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404812"> <h2 class="h2">November 20, 2014 - Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson Expands DACA and Announces DAPA</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD83 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_deferred_action_0.pdf" data-show-preview="true">The memo</a> allowed DACA recipients to renew their deferred action status for two years, removed the age cap of 30, and extended the DACA renewal and work authorization to three years.</p><span class="marker MOD83 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD84 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Furthermore, the memo expanded deferred action with DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans) to those with a U.S. citizen child, who have lived in the U.S. continuously since January 1, 2010, are in the U.S., and have no criminal history or enforcement priority.</p><span class="marker MOD84 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD85 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children and with Respect to Certain Individuals Who Are the Parents of U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents,” dhs.gov, Nov. 20, 2014</p><span class="marker MOD85 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD86 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Jeh Charles Johnson, “Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children and with Respect to Certain Individuals Who Are the Parents of U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents,” dhs.gov, Nov. 20, 2014</p><span class="marker MOD86 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404813"> <h2 class="h2">April 7, 2015:  <em>Crane</em> v. <em>Johnson</em></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD87 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Mississippi and several individual ICE agents filed a lawsuit against DHS claiming DACA</p><span class="marker MOD87 mod-inline"></span> <blockquote> <p>violated federal law, because the law required them to detain all illegal aliens for the purpose of placing the aliens in removal proceedings. The State of Mississippi alleged that the deferred action has caused additional aliens to remain in the state and, thus, causes the state to spend money on providing social services.</p> </blockquote> <span class="marker PREMOD89 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The district court, and subsequently the Fifth Circuit court, dismissed the case on grounds that Mississippi and the ICE agents had not proven injury.</p><span class="marker MOD89 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD90 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Justia U.S. Law, “Crane v. Johnson, No. 14-10049 (5th Cir. 2015),” law.justia.com (accessed Jan. 27, 2025)</p><span class="marker MOD90 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404814"> <h2 class="h2">August 14, 2015: <em>Arpaio</em> v. <em>Obama</em></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD91 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Joe Arpaio, the Sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona, filed a lawsuit against President Obama and several members of the Cabinet claiming DACA and DAPA were unconstitutional overreaches of presidential power and that the programs increased undocumented immigrants and crime in Arizona. The case was dismissed because Arpaio failed to prove causation or provide proof of injury.</p><span class="marker MOD91 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD92 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, “Case: Arpaio v. Obama,” clearinghouse.net (accessed Jan. 27, 2025)</p><span class="marker MOD92 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404815"> <h2 class="h2">June 23, 2016 - <em>United States</em> v. <em>Texas</em></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD93 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Oyez summarized the case:</p><span class="marker MOD93 mod-inline"></span> <blockquote> <p>Texas and other states sued to prevent the implementation of DAPA [Deferred Action for Parents of Americans] and argued that it violated the Administrative Procedure Act because it had not gone through the notice-and-comment process, and because it was arbitrary and capricious. The states also argued that DAPA violated the Take Care Clause of the Constitution, which clarifies the President’s power. The district court held that the states had standing to file the suit and temporarily enjoined the implementation of DAPA because the states had established a substantial likelihood of success on the notice-and-comment claim. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed and held that the states had standing as well as a substantial likelihood of success on their substantive and procedural claims.</p> </blockquote> <span class="marker PREMOD95 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">A preliminary injunction was placed on the implementation of DAPA. In a 4-4 decision (Justice <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antonin-Scalia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Antonin Scalia</a> had just died and not yet been replaced), the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court order, leaving the injunction stopping the implementation of DAPA in place.</p><span class="marker MOD95 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD96 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Oyez, “United States v. Texas,” oyez.org (accessed Jan. 27, 2025)</p><span class="marker MOD96 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404816"> <h2 class="h2">September 4, 2017 - Attorney General Directs Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to Rescind DACA</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD97 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In a <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/17_0904_DOJ_AG-letter-DACA.pdf" data-show-preview="true">letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine C. Duke</a>, Attorney General<a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jeff-Sessions" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"> Jeff Sessions</a> requested that the DACA program be ended.</p><span class="marker MOD97 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD98 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Jefferson B. Sessions, III, Letter to Acting Secretary Duke, dhs.gov, Sept. 4, 2017</p><span class="marker MOD98 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404817"> <h2 class="h2">September 5, 2017 - Acting Secretary of DHS Elaine C. Duke Rescinds DACA</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD99 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">With a memo titled, “<a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.dhs.gov/archive/news/2017/09/05/memorandum-rescission-daca" data-show-preview="true">Memorandum on Rescission Of Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA)</a>,” Duke rescinded Obama’s June 15, 2012 memo that established DACA. This means no DACA applications filed after Sept. 5 were accepted.</p><span class="marker MOD99 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD100 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Elaine C. Duke, “Memorandum on Rescission Of Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA),” dhs.gov/archive, Sept. 5, 2017</p><span class="marker MOD100 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404818"> <h2 class="h2">January 9, 2018 - Court Injunction Requires DHS to Continue DACA</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD101 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">As a result of a lawsuit brought by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Judge William Alsup of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that DHS is required to continue DACA with a few exceptions:</p><span class="marker MOD101 mod-inline"></span> <blockquote> <p>with the exception: (1) that new applications from applicants who have never before received deferred action need not be processed; (2) the advance parole feature need not be continued for the time being for anyone; and (3) [DHS] may take administrative steps to ensure fair discretion is exercised on an individualized basis for each renewal application.</p> </blockquote> <span class="marker PREMOD103 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, “Federal Court Requires Federal Government to Maintain DACA Program Nationwide with Certain Exceptions,” aalrr.com, Jan. 19, 2018</p><span class="marker MOD103 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404819"> <h2 class="h2">February 13, 2018 - June 18, 2020 - <em>Dept. of Homeland Security, et al.</em>, v. <em>Regents of the University of California, et al</em></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD104 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Martín Batalla Vidal, a DACA recipient, filed a lawsuit (<a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nyedce/1:2016cv04756/390395/354/" data-show-preview="true"><em>Batalla Vidal</em> v. <em>Nielsen</em></a>) against the federal government challenging <em>United States</em> v. <em>Texas</em> in 2016. Once the Trump administration came into office and rescinded DACA, Batalla Vidal amended his lawsuit to challenge the rescission of DACA. Make the Road New York (MRNY) and five more DACA recipients joined the lawsuit.</p><span class="marker MOD104 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD105 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Judge Garaufis in the Eastern District of New York issued a nationwide injunction, ruling that the termination of DACA was arbitrary and capricious. The federal government appealed the ruling.</p><span class="marker MOD105 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD106 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the meantime, several other cases arguing against the rescission were heard and consolidated with <em>Batalla Vidal</em> v. <em>Nielsen</em>:</p><span class="marker MOD106 mod-inline"></span> <ul><li><div>April 24, 2018: <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/trump-v-naacp/" data-show-preview="true"><em>NAACP</em> v. <em>Trump</em></a></div></li><li><div>November 8, 2018: <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/18-15068/18-15068-2018-11-08.html" data-show-preview="true"><em>Regents of the University of California</em> v. <em>U.S. Department of Homeland Security</em></a></div></li><li><div>May 17, 2019: <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca4/18-1521/18-1521-2019-05-17.html" data-show-preview="true"><em>Casa De Maryland</em> v. <em>U.S. Department of Homeland Security</em></a></div></li></ul> <span class="marker PREMOD107 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The consolidated cases were heard by the <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2019/18-587" data-show-preview="true">U.S. Supreme Court</a> that ruled on June 18, 2020 in a 5-4 decision that the Trump administration’s rescission of DACA was unlawful. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-G-Roberts-Jr" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chief Justice John Roberts</a> wrote in the opinion, “The dispute before the Court is not whether [the Department of Homeland Security] may rescind DACA. All parties agree that it may. The dispute is instead primarily about the procedure the agency followed in doing so.”</p><span class="marker MOD107 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD108 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—John Kruzel, “Supreme Court Blocks Trump Plan to End DACA Program,” thehill.com, June 18, 2020</p><span class="marker MOD108 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD109 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Yale Law School, “Batalla Vidal v. Nielsen,” law.yale.edu (accessed Jan. 27, 2025)</p><span class="marker MOD109 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404820"> <h2 class="h2">Mar. 27, 2020 - Lawyers Argue Dreamers Are Essential during Covid-19 Pandemic</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD110 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">-</p><span class="marker MOD110 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD111 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Lawyers for plaintiffs seeking to continue DACA submitted a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court stating that “Termination of DACA during this national emergency would be catastrophic.”</p><span class="marker MOD111 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD112 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Their reasoning was that DACA recipients working in healthcare were essential to fighting COVID-19 and that halting immigration enforcement would enable all Dreamers to comply with public health measures urging people to stay at home to slow the transmission of the virus.</p><span class="marker MOD112 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD113 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Michael J. Wishnie, et al., “Re: Wolf, et al., v. Batalla Vidal, et al., No. 18-589,” supremecourt.gov, Mar. 27, 2020</p><span class="marker MOD113 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404821"> <h2 class="h2">July 28, 2020 - December 4, 2020 - The “Wolf Memo” Seeks to Limit DACA</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD114 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf issued a memo (referred to as the “<a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/20_0728_s1_daca-reconsideration-memo.pdf" data-show-preview="true">Wolf Memo</a>”) on July 28, 2020, to the senior officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ICE, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to once again limit DACA to the point of dismantling the program.</p><span class="marker MOD114 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD115 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The National Immigration Law Center and Martín Batalla Vidal again sued the federal government. On Dec. 4, 2020, U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/21_0115_354-order-vacating-wolf-further-relief_1.pdf" data-show-preview="true">vacated the memo</a>, restoring DACA to its 2012 state, based on the holding that</p><span class="marker MOD115 mod-inline"></span> <blockquote> <p>Mr. Wolf was not lawfully serving as Acting Secretary of Homeland Security when he issued the Wolf Memorandum, because the Department of Homeland Security failed to follow its order of succession, as it was lawfully designated under the Homeland Security Act.</p> </blockquote> <span class="marker PREMOD117 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Chad F. Wolf, “Reconsideration of the June 15, 2012 Memorandum Entitled ‘Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children,’” dhs.gov, July 28, 2020</p><span class="marker MOD117 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD118 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Department of Homeland Security, “354 Order Vacating Wolf Memo Ordering Further Relief,” dhs.gov, Dec. 4, 2020</p><span class="marker MOD118 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404822"> <h2 class="h2">January 20, 2021 - Biden Issues Day One Memo to Protect DACA</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD119 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joe-Biden" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">President Joe Biden</a> signed an <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01769/preserving-and-fortifying-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-daca" data-show-preview="true">executive order</a> instructing the Homeland Security Secretary to “preserve and fortify DACA.”</p><span class="marker MOD119 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD120 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Joseph R. Biden, “Preserving and Fortifying Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),” whitehouse.gov, Jan. 20, 2021</p><span class="marker MOD120 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404823"> <h2 class="h2">July 16, 2021 - September 13, 2023 - <em>State of Texas, et al.</em>, v. <em>United States of America, et al.</em></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD121 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The DACA program was declared “illegal” by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on July 16, 2021. The court issued an injunction but also stayed that injunction, meaning the DACA program could proceed but no new applications could be granted.</p><span class="marker MOD121 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD122 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case on Oct. 5, 2022, but sent the case back to the Southern District of Texas Court that had ruled on July 16, 2021. The district court affirmed its ruling on Sept. 13, 2023.</p><span class="marker MOD122 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD123 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Additional Information: DACA Decision in State of Texas, et al., v. United States of America, et al., 1:18-CV-00068, (S.D. Texas July 16, 2021) (“Texas II”),” uscis.gov, Oct. 11, 2024</p><span class="marker MOD123 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404824"> <h2 class="h2">August 24, 2022 - DHS Codfies DACA</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD124 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The Biden administration <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2022-18401.pdf" data-show-preview="true">finalized a rule</a> on Aug. 24, 2022 to make DACA a federal regulation (instead of a policy). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule took effect on Oct. 31, 2022 and codified the policy in the federal government’s code of regulations. The new regulation purposefully addressed the steps Judge Hanen ruled the Obama administration should have taken in 2012, including making the regulation open to public comment.</p><span class="marker MOD124 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD125 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Camilo Montoya-Galvez, "Biden Administration Moves to Formalize DACA and Shield It from Legal Challenges," cbsnews.com, Aug. 24, 2022</p><span class="marker MOD125 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404825"> <h2 class="h2">October 5, 2022 - U.S. Court of Appeals Says DACA Is Illegal</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD126 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The court affirmed the July 2021 court decision that DACA is illegal. The court stayed the decision and sent the case back to the Federal District Court in Houston.</p><span class="marker MOD126 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD127 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—Eileen Sullivan, "Appeals Court Says DACA Is Illegal but Keeps Program Alive for Now," nytimes.com, Oct. 5, 2022</p><span class="marker MOD127 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404826"> <h2 class="h2">May 3, 2024 - December 23, 2024 - DACA Recipients Declared Eligible, then Ineligible, for Obamacare</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD128 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Updated regulations issued by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra allowed DACA recipients to qualify for health care insurance via the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) for the first time, effective Nov. 1, 2024.</p><span class="marker MOD128 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD129 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The new rules were immediately challenged in several courts that issued a roller-coaster of rulings. A Dec. 9, 2024 ruling blocked PPACA eligibility for Dreamers in the 19 states that filed a lawsuit. A Dec. 16, 2024 ruling stayed the Dec. 9 ruling, thus allowing PPACA sign-ups in all states for Dreamers. A Dec. 23, 2024 ruling vacated the stay, making DACA recipients in the 19 states again ineligible for PPACA coverage.</p><span class="marker MOD129 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD130 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The 19 states in which DACA recipients were ruled not eligible for Obamacare health care insurance are: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.</p><span class="marker MOD130 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD131 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">— Xavier Becerra, “Clarifying the Eligibility of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Recipients and Certain Other Noncitizens for a Qualified Health Plan through an Exchange, Advance Payments of the Premium Tax Credit, Cost-Sharing Reductions, and a Basic Health Program,” public-inspection.federalregister.gov, May 3, 2024</p><span class="marker MOD131 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD132 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Drishti Pillai and Samantha Artiga, “Overview and Implications of the ACA Marketplace Expansion to DACA Recipients,” kff.org, Oct. 29, 2024</p><span class="marker MOD132 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref404827"> <h2 class="h2">January 17, 2025 - DACA Ruled Unlawful Again</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD133 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The Fifth Circuit again ruled that DACA was unlawful on Jan. 17, 2025, but stayed the decision for appeals. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services can continue to process renewal requests but can only accept (not process) first-time applications.</p><span class="marker MOD133 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD134 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),” uscis.gov/DACA, Jan. 24, 2025</p><span class="marker MOD134 mod-inline"></span> </section> </section><span class="marker h8"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref391300"> <h2 class="h1">Discussion Questions</h2> <ol><li><div>Is DACA good for America? Explain you answer(s).</div></li><li><div>What do you think of the idea of ending DACA for future immigrants but allowing the Dreamers, many of whom know no other country than the United States, to remain in the U.S.? </div></li><li><div>Should other undocumented immigrants be allowed a pathway to citizenship? Why or why not?</div></li><li><div>What other immigration policies would you change? How would you change them? Explain your answer(s).</div></li></ol> </section><span class="marker h9"></span><section data-level="1" class="takeaction" id="ref391301"> <h2 class="h1">Take Action</h2> <ol><li><div>Consider the stance of Cato Institute policy analyst <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.cato.org/blog/ending-daca-will-impose-billions-employer-compliance-costs?gclid=Cj0KCQiA4L2BBhCvARIsAO0SBdZN9vlNb1nPm6DrRwZ8TT-9NsNEIUlB14zCP70iF0QQdaVqdsKBy8saAqmgEALw_wcB" data-show-preview="true">David J. Bier</a> that ending DACA would have cost employers billions.</div></li><li><div>Explore updates and news about DACA with the <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.ilrc.org/daca" data-show-preview="true">Immigrant Legal Resource Center</a> (ILRC)</div></li><li><div>Evaluate former acting director of immigration and customs enforcement <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://irli.org/daca-can-be-ended-with-swift-dhs-action/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA4L2BBhCvARIsAO0SBdbLrsAcata1F3e44iS6A3gY7yaC0l2wSRM8mYYz3W8MUV3XdM2d8xkaAhxSEALw_wcB" data-show-preview="true">Tom Homan’s</a> position that DACA should have never been enacted and should be ended.</div></li><li><div>Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? If so, how? List two to three ways. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the “other side of the issue” now helps you better argue your position.</div></li><li><div>Push for the position and policies you support by writing U.S. <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm" data-show-preview="true">senators</a> and <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative" data-show-preview="true">representatives</a>.</div></li></ol> </section><section class="sources" id="ref391302"><h2 class="h1">Sources</h2><div class="sources"><ol><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-1">Undocumented Student Program, “DACA Information,” undocu.berkeley.edu (accessed Jan. 30, 2018)</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-2">Homeland Security, “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),” dhs.gov, Jan. 29, 2018</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-3">Orrin Hatch, “S.1291 – DREAM Act,” congress.gov, June 20, 2002</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-4">Lindsey Graham, “Graham, Durbin Introduce Bipartisan Dream Act to Give Immigrant Students a Path to Citizenship,” lgraham.senate.gov, July 20, 2017</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-5">SSRS, “CNN January 2018,” cnn.com, Jan. 19, 2018</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-6">Tom K. Wong, et al., “DACA Recipients’ Economic and Educational Gains Continue to Grow,” americanprogress.org, Aug. 28, 2017</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-7">Nicole Prchal Svajlenka, Tom Jawetz, and Angie Bautista-Chavez, “A New Threat to DACA Could Cost States Billions of Dollars,” americanprogress.org, July 21, 2017</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-8">Fracesca Ortega, Ryan Edwards, and Philip E. 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Mortensen, “DACA: Granting Amnesty to Dreamers Committing Crimes while Abandoning Their Victims,” cis.org, Mar. 10, 2017</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-21">Nina Shapiro, “Seattle Judge Won’t Immediately Release ‘Dreamer’ from Detention Center,” seattletimes.com, Feb. 17, 2017</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-22">U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Active DACA Recipients – (Fiscal Year 2024, Quarter 4),” uscis.gov, Dec. 16, 2024</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-23">Adam Edelman, “Trump Ends DACA Program, No New Applications Accepted,” nbcnews.com, Sep. 5, 2017</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-24">Donald Trump, twitter.com, Sep. 5, 2017</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-25">Brett Samuels, “Judge Blocks Trump Move to End DACA,” thehill.com, Jan. 9, 2018</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-26">Reuters, “Another Judge Blocks Trump Administration from Ending DACA Program,” nbcnews.com, Feb. 13, 2018</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-27">Joseph P. Williams, “Supreme Court Doesn’t Act on DACA Appeal,” usnews.com, Feb. 20, 2018</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-28">Richard Wolf and Alan Gomez, “Supreme Court Snubs Trump, Keeps DACA Immigration Program in Place for Now,” usatoday.com, Feb. 26, 2018</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-29">Pete Wiliams, “In Blow to Trump, Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal of DACA Ruling,” nbcnews.com, Feb. 26, 2018</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-30">Nina Totenberg, “DACA Recipients Look to Supreme Court for Hope,” npr.org, Nov. 12, 2019</li><li class="marker" id="pcref-2255855-31">Michael J. Wishnie, et al., “Re: Wolf, et al., v. 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