The Deferred Action for Children Arrivals, abbreviated as DACA, is a United States immigration policy which allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the U.S after being brought up to the country as children. These individuals also receive a renewable two-years of deferred action, an immigration status which helps illegal immigrants to delay their deportation and be eligible for a work permit as long as they have not committed any felonies or serious misdemeanours. The policy was originally introduced by former U.S President Barack Obama on June 15, 2012, and began taking applications on August 15, 2012. However, since the inauguration of current U.S President Donald Trump, the administration has been trying to dismantle the program, creating fear within immigrants all around the nation.
The threat of the president ending the program has happened at the same time that there have been reports of ICE (U.S Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) contractors violating U.S asylum laws and illegally detaining children in numerous facilities before expelling them from the U.S. The Hampton Hotel in Texas is one of the three Hamptons Inn & Suites locations where a private contractor from ICE has held children. Staffers with the Texas Civil Rights Project were trying to give legal aid to immigrant children detained at the hotel when they were forcefully asked to leave and video of the incident shows the men forcing a member of the Project reporting on the situation into an elevator to leave the fourth floor, where the children were staying. Advocates responded by standing outside the hotel holding signs asking for the information of those detained inside, some of whom responded by holding signs that said: “We don’t have a phone” and “We need your help”. The facilities in which the children were staying were not equipped to hold the children which could increase the risk of trauma, according to advocates. ICE states that these “transportation specialists” are trained to work with children, however, they deny to say if they are licensed for child care or have FBI background checks.
Many immigrants around the world dream of living in the United States, a country which promotes prosperity and hospitality. Yet, recent actions taken by the Trump administration seem to be promoting the exact opposite. President Trump has had a long history of disrespecting immigrants all around the world as well as in the U.S, such as calling all Mexicans “rapists” during his campaign in 2016 and implementing a travel ban which targeted Muslims from entering the country. His threatening the end of DACA doesn’t seem out of character when compared to his past actions and statements.
The final questions we have to ask ourselves are: what does the end of DACA mean for immigrant children in the US? And what does it say about Donald Trump’s morality? Can it be said that by ending DACA, Trump would be violating the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Article 14 of the Declaration states: “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” By ending the program, Trump would be denying children their ability and right to seek asylum in a foreign country, which could land him in a direct feud with the United Nations.
By Daniela Castellano
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