The Truth About DACA

DACA or the Deferred Act of Childhood Arrivals, protects illegal aliens who were brought here as children with no say in the matter. It protects them from deportation, allowing them to pursue work and education. Recently, President Donald Trump announced the repeal of DACA, granting congress six months to find a replacement option before DACA becomes a thing of the past. People all around our great country are outraged, calling for the bill to remain in use. With all of the protesting, opinions are common and facts come few and far between.

President Trump’s administration claims this bill to be unconstitutional. The constitution of the US states everyone has the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Repealing this bill will strip these rights from children who had no say in what laws their parents broke. Why hold the errors of their parents against them?

On the other hand, DACA was instituted unconstitutionally and illegally by former President Barack Obama. The bill itself isn’t the problem, it's the way it came into law. Our home, the United States of America, was founded with a three branched government system. The job of the president is not to make laws but to enforce the laws. When former President Obama made the executive order that became DACA, he overstepped his bounds. On May 10, 2011 prior to DACA’s institution Mr. Obama gave a speech stating,

“... they wish I could just bypass Congress and change the law myself. But that’s not how a democracy works. What we really need to do is to keep up the fight to pass genuine, comprehensive reform. That is the ultimate solution to this problem. That's what I’m committed to doing” (National Archives and Records Administration).

Mr. Obama was a senator; he understands how our government works but in 2012, just one year later, he did exactly what he said he could not and would not do. He illegally and unconstitutionally bypassed congress and started DACA. When President Trump took office, he was asked to have this executive order removed due to its illegal institution. Ten states threatened to sue the Trump administration for allowing this order, that violates our constitution, to remain. Our President’s hands were tied forcing him to repeal DACA.

Congress now has six months until the DACA outrage turns to them. President Trump is giving them six months to pass this bill in a legal way. It is already written, all they need to do is retype it and vote; no work required. This would make DACA a legal law, enabling further protection for our ‘dreamers’.

Sources

• Aguilar, Julian “Texas leads 10 states in urging Trump to end Obama-Era immigration program.” The Texas Tribune. 2017.
• Ball, Molly “How Immigration Hardliners Are Forcing Trump's Hand on DACA.” The Atlantic. 2017.
• “Branches of Government.” Branches of Government | USAGov
• “DACA Is Unconstitutional, as Obama Admitted.” The Heritage Foundation
• “Remarks by the President on Comprehensive Immigration Reform in El Paso, Texas.” National Archives and Records Administration