'Dreamers Are Americans'
Biden, others call for congressional action as they celebrate "DACA Day"
In response to the hundreds of thousands — or perhaps many, many more “Dreamers” brought to the United States over the past few decades — the Obama-Biden administration in 2012 crafted a new immigration policy known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
Dreamers are undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children by parents or other adults through no fault of their own. Often, the United States is the only home these children remember — and don't even know the language of whatever country that they were originally born in.
Under current immigration law, most of these young people had no way to gain legal residency even though they have lived in the U.S. most of their lives.
Many Dreamers say they didn’t know they were unauthorized immigrants until they were teenagers—often when they discovered they couldn’t join their peers in getting a driver’s license or filling out financial aid forms for college because they didn’t have Social Security numbers.
DACA enables certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several key guidelines to request consideration for deferred action. It allows non-U.S. citizens who qualify to remain in the country for two years, subject to renewal. Recipients are eligible for work authorization and other benefits, and are shielded from deportation. The fee to request DACA is $495 every two years.
Since DACA began, 787,580 people have been approved for the program. To be eligible, applicants had to have arrived in the United States before age 16 and lived here since June 15, 2007. They could not have been older than 30 when the Department of Homeland Security enacted the policy in 2012.
Tuesday was the ninth anniversary of the day since then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden announced DACA as an administrative stopgap measure because Congress was failing to take action on what had been the bipartisan Dream Act.
Nine years later, Biden is back in the White House as president. And even overseas completing his first foreign policy trip of his presidency he observed the DACA anniversary.
In the interim, the Trump administration tried to end the DACA program — only to be blocked by the Supreme Court.
“Dreamers are Americans. Many have spent most of their lives in the United States. They live, study, work, and worship in our communities. They have served on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Biden said in a White House statement.
He also noted that it's been 20 years since the introduction of the bipartisan Dream Act, led by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill) and former Republican Sen. Hatch.
"And over the years, bipartisan coalitions of lawmakers championed this bill. The American public overwhelmingly supports this legislation. But time and time again, the Senate has failed to act,” Biden said.
Only Congress can provide a permanent legislative fix to provide lasting stability for Dreamers and their families, Biden said.
"My immigration bill, the U.S. Citizenship Act, creates a pathway to citizenship for undocumented individuals in our country, including Dreamers. In March, the House took a critical first step and passed the American Dream and Promise Act,” he said. “Congress must find a way to pass these legislative solutions and I will continue to work towards passage of legislation protecting Dreamers and creating a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. These young people represent the best of America and we can’t let them down.”
Sen Durbin, one of original lawmakers behind the bipartisan Dream Act decades ago, also observed the ninth anniversary of DACA.
“The DACA program turns nine years old today and Dreamers are still waiting on a pathway to citizenship. Potential deals have come and gone, and they have waited all the while. It’s time we finally #LetThemDream. It’s time we pass the American Dream and Promise Act,” he tweeted.
Most Americans support granting legal status to immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children, according to a Pew Resarch Center poll. Some 20 percent are opposed.