Sometimes, there is nothing as permanent as a temporary solution.
President Barack Obama created a program in 2012 to protect illegal immigrants who were brought to the US as children from deportation, after Congress failed to approve legislation that would have granted them legal status.
Obama described the program as a temporary measure that would give Congress time to approve legislation that would create a permanent solution.
Eight and a half years later, Congress still hasn’t approved a legislative fix, and Obama’s “temporary” solution remains in place.
This analysis is the first in a series that examines the history of DACA, including its origin under the Obama administration, Trump’s failed attempt to terminate the program, and Biden’s pledge to protect it.
Throughout its history, DACA has existed at the center of complex interactions between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, and between the states and federal government.
The DREAM Act
In December 2010, Congress considered the DREAM Act, a bill that would provide legal status and a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants brought to the US as children who met certain requirements.
The Democratic US House approved the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, but the bill only received 55 votes in the US Senate, five votes short of the 60 required to defeat a Republican filibuster.
Senator Jeff Sessions, a Republican from Alabama, voted against the bill.
“This bill is a law that at its fundamental core is a reward for illegal activity,” he said.
Remember Sessions, he will play an important role later on.
Under the version of the bill considered by the Senate, illegal immigrants would be eligible for legal status if they came to the US before the age of 16, were under the age of 30, lived in the US for five consecutive years, passed a criminal background test, and obtained a high school diploma or GED.
These immigrants brought to the US as children are sometimes called dreamers.
Under the bill, children who were brought to the country illegally who attended college or enlisted in the military for two years could receive permanent residency after 10 years.
Obama creates the DACA program
Following the defeat of the DREAM Act in Congress, the Obama Administration decided to enact a new, temporary policy, without Congressional approval, to protect dreamers from deportation.
On June 15, 2012, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano wrote a memo creating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
“Our Nation’s immigration laws must be enforced in a strong and sensible manner,” Napolitano wrote. “They are not designed to be blindly enforced without consideration given to the individual circumstances of each case. Nor are they designed to remove productive young people to countries where they may not have lived or even speak the language. Indeed, many of these young people have already contributed to our country in significant ways. Prosecutorial discretion, which is used in so many other areas, is especially justified here.”
Primary Source: DACA Memo
The new DACA policy applied to illegal immigrants who came to the US before the age of 16, were 30 years old or younger, had continuously resided in the US for five years, and were present in the US when the program began.
The program required illegal immigrants to request relief under the program. The immigrants also had to pass a background check.
They would be disqualified from the program if they had been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise posed a threat to national security or public safety.
The policy only applied to immigrants who were in school, had graduated from high school, had obtained a GED, or had been honorably discharged from the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States.
Illegal immigrants who met the program’s qualifications would not be subject to deportation from the US for two years, and they could renew their status every two years. The program also allowed them to apply for authorization to legally work in the US.
While not mentioned in Napolitano’s memo, DACA recipients who received deferred action from deportation became eligible to receive Social Security and Medicare benefits under other federal regulations.
Americans in everything but name
President Obama gave a speech in the White House Rose Garden announcing the DACA program on the day it was launched. Obama said dreamers are thoroughly American.
“These are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they’re friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag,” he said. “They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper. They were brought to this country by their parents—sometimes even as infants — and often have no idea that they’re undocumented until they apply for a job or a driver’s license, or a college scholarship.”
Obama said these young people made and will continue to make extraordinary contributions to America.
“It makes no sense to expel talented young people, who, for all intents and purposes, are Americans. They’ve been raised as Americans, and understand themselves to be part of this country.”
Obama said the DACA program was a temporary measure, and he called on Congress to approve the DREAM Act.
“Now, let's be clear — this is not amnesty, this is not immunity, this is not a path to citizenship,” he said. “It's not a permanent fix. This is a temporary stopgap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people. It is precisely because this is temporary, Congress needs to act. There is still time for Congress to pass the DREAM Act this year, because these kids deserve to plan their lives in more than two-year increments.”
