DACA: Nine years later, many remain unfree in the land of the free

President Barack Obama stated that undocumented people are “Americans in heart and mind in every way but on paper” when he announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in June 2012.

It hit home. I was six years old when my mother, a single mother of three and a domestic violence survivor, decided to immigrate with us to the United States. I started going to school, learned English, and adapted to the American way of life. My mother paid her taxes on time, worked religiously to support us, and cultivated relationships within our new community and church. I knew I had no papers, but I didn’t fully understand the implications involved.

Nine years ago, the Obama administration gave undocumented young immigrants, commonly known as dreamers, a choice: stay in the shadows or provide the government with all personal information to “postpone” deportation. In good faith, many undocumented individuals chose the latter, believing that the government would protect us. That promise was short-lived when the Trump administration lifted the program in 2017, catapulting many into a rollercoaster of emotion, a nightmare we continue to live in.

We mistakenly believed that freedom equals DACA and that Washington leaders would continue to work towards much-needed immigration reform. However, our humanity, livelihoods and narratives continue to be held hostage and used as leverage to advance a political agenda.

Today, the urgency to protect dreamers is pervasive as a federal judge in Texas ruled that all new DACA applicants should be banned from protection. Even if the Supreme Court itself decided in 2020 to keep the program in the form of a formality, the program could be abolished without a permanent legislative solution.

Nearly 650,000 people are enrolled in the program, according to USCIS, including people from around the world who are rooted in cities in the United States and who contribute to the culture, economy, and general well-being of the communities. As a DACA recipient, we pay approximately $ 5.7 billion in federal taxes and $ 3.1 billion in state and local taxes annually to fund our roads, schools, and parks.

Through wage taxes, we pay into social security and Medicare programs that we cannot benefit from. The DACA recipients alone have a purchasing power of 24.1 billion US dollars. We are business owners, homeowners, students, and educators. We have a driver’s license, work legally, and continue to live graciously. However, there is no avenue to citizenship under DACA, which often prevents people from reaching their full potential.

DACA offered me the opportunity to become a Summer Fellow at Johns Hopkins University for an MPH / MBA by simply getting social coverage. As I continue to climb the academic ladder and study medicine at SUNY Upstate, I am still captivated by fear, anxiety, and one morning’s uncertainty. The temporary nature of DACA still plagues our daily lives, especially when it neglects our right to access government aid, applying for permanent legal status and, for some, government tuition fees to pursue higher education. Without a concrete solution, we face deportation and family separation of immigrants.

The reality is that dreamers are our parents’ legacy and their dreams to us. Growing up in the heart of an immigrant community on the Buford Highway Corridor in Atlanta, I have come to appreciate the diverse structure of our nation. Immigrants of all ages and origins have woven themselves into the cloth of opportunity and freedom. I find strength in our differences and courage in stories of resilience. Now we need Congress that not only listens to immigrants but 77% of Americans who support a dreamers road to citizenship.

By giving dreamers a deserved avenue to citizenship even though laws like the Dream Act and all other avenues are possible, Congress can transform the lives of those who are going through a tumultuous journey in the program and who have been denied that opportunity. DACA’s resignation was a rude awakening that shook the very foundations of life for those of us who call the US our “home.”

I invite everyone, including Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, to understand the humanitarian crisis within our borders. Your advocacy and support, education and the creation of safe spaces help us create momentum for change. The US benefits from our being here. We just want to continue to thrive and be able to make our contribution, because home is here.