President Trump’s decision to repeal DACA (Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals), a program started by ex-President Obama to
protect undocumented youth from deportation, has sent a shockwave of fear, despair
and uncertainty though the 800,000-strong community of DACA – the Dreamers -
and their families in the United States.
In the college where I teach,
there are about 100 DACA students, a few of whom I know. They crystallize for
me the enormity of the crime the Trump administration has committed in threatening
to destroy the dreams of so many young Americans poised to make their mark in
life.
Lopez was brought to the U.S.
in 2007 when he was 15 years old. His parents from Mexico had no immigration
papers but somehow managed to find their way to Santa Barbara. “They worked as
hired laborers but we still had a fairly good life,” said Lopez, who hopes to
graduate within a year and transfer to UCLA. “But now everything is up in the
air. I cannot walk down the street without looking back to see if ICE agents
are about to grab me. They know where I live, where I work.”
ICE agents know where he lives
because he had to recently renew his registration, a requirement for DACA students
every 2 years. His parents returned to
Mexico several years ago. He thought of going back himself but they told him
not to because life had become unbearably violent in their village in Southern
Mexico. “I wouldn’t last a day,” they said.
“The stress is killing me,”
said Maria, who will be graduating in a year and nurtures the hope of becoming
a dentist. “I come from a mixed family. My parents are undocumented. I am
undocumented. I don’t know what will happen if DACA is discontinued. What will
I do? Where will I go? This is the only country I know, the country I call
home.”
Valdez will graduate next
summer and has already applied to several medical schools. He knew all along
that Trump would do something like this. Valdez is fed up being fearful,
though. “I don’t believe in hiding. Why should I hide or act afraid? I work
hard. I contribute to America like other Americans. I am a good person. The way
Trump talks, it’s as if Mexicans - and Muslims - are criminals.”
Valdez is disappointed with
Americans who cling to Trump despite his un-American acts. “They complain about
jobs that Mexicans and others are taking away but they don’t want the dirty
jobs we and our parents do. They don’t want to work in restaurants, in the fields,
as cleaners, as laborers. What are we supposed to do? Every myth with DACA –
that we take away jobs from real Americans, that DACA increases illegal
immigration, that repealing DACA will benefit taxpayers and protect communities
from criminals – has been proven wrong with solid data.”
When Trump announced the end of the DACA program on September 5, the chancellor of the San Jose-Evergreen Community College District issued a strong statement that “those impacted by this callous and thoughtless decision were brought to the United States as children and have been upstanding members of our communities ever since. They are pursuing an education, working, serving in our armed forces, and contributing to their communities in countless other ways.” This followed an earlier statement by Eloy Oakley, chancellor of California’s 114-campus, 2.1-million-student-strong community college system that “ending DACA is a heartless and senseless decision that goes against American ideals and basic human decency … In California, we don’t put dreams – or Dreamers – on hold. The California Community Colleges remain committed to serving all students, regardless of immigration status and to providing safe and welcoming environments in which to learn.”
As of
today, the Trump administration has been sued for its anti-DACA policy by the University
of California and the State of California, along with 15 other states led by
New York and Washington. The City of San Jose is the first city to sue the
Trump administration over DACA beyond the District of Columbia. Mayor Sam
Liccardo said: “DACA recipients include public servants in our own City Hall,
providing public safety and other critical services to our community. They all
deserve our support and they deserve our nation’s welcome.”
California
will be particularly hard hit if DACA is repealed because it is home more than
a quarter of all DACA recipients who contribute significantly not just economically
and in community services, but more importantly, as symbols of justice, equality
and fair play.
President
Trump is determined to dismantle every single policy of his predecessor, domestic
and foreign. That’s his definition of success - to be the anti-Obama, damn the
consequences. Repealing DACA is only the latest manifestation of this man’s reckless
behavior. As Valdez puts it, Trump’s delay to repeal DACA for six months to give Congress a
chance to address the issue is a smokescreen that reeks of cruelty and
hypocrisy. It is also a way to shift the blame to Congress if, for any reason,
the repeal falls through.
Protecting and defending DACA is
a moral imperative for fair-minded Americans. It must transcend any
consideration framed in economic or productivity terms. More than anything
else, we need to protect DACA simply because it is the right thing to do.
During the unjust and immoral
Vietnam War, protesters chanted: “Hell, No. We won’t go.” Let our slogan now
be: “America, Protect DACA.”
