Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA. A topic the majority of people are speaking upon, due to the shift in presidential power. DACA is a government program that protects eligible immigrants who came to the United States when they were children from deportation. Many people living in today’s society are applicants or relatives of somebody benefiting from the DACA program. Most applicants in the DACA program are Latinos. The population of Maywood is composed of 97.7% of Hispanic or Latino residents. Imagine living in a world without immigrants. 

The DACA program was established in 2012 when President Barack Obama was still in office. A vision to help immigrants have a better life, a better future, and a safer environment for a two year period. Although Obama meant for this program to be a temporary fix and not a permanent fix, the program has lasted over seven years. 

President Trump believes that Obama established this program with no right to do so. He thinks of this program as just being another access portal to illegal immigration. Although many who are on the opposing side believe that it is cruel to deport people back to lands that are strange to them, President Trump once said, “They shouldn’t be very worried. I do have a big heart. We’re going to take care of everybody.” Many who support Trump, such as Jeff Sessions believe that DACA “denied jobs to hundreds of thousands of Americans by allowing those same illegal aliens to take those jobs.”

The termination of DACA would lead to many long-lasting effects. Many of these effects may include higher education becoming less accessible, a higher chance of poverty, and the greatest effect of them all, family separation. 

 With the DACA program being terminated, the economy will have a drastic change. The change will come because many low range jobs run off of recipients of DACA and if they are deported these jobs will become wanted jobs. This may also lead to an increase in poverty because the recipients come here to have a better education and maintain a stable job to support their families. But, if they ultimately get deported their family won’t have anybody to depend on and that family may lead to poverty. This possibility is high for many families. 

Being a DACA recipient comes with many benefits such as getting a social security card, driver’s license in most states, opportunities to improve credit scores and apply for credit cards, be able to put utility bills under their name, and get a job with health care.

Families, with the termination of DACA, are going to be separated, and this has caused a public uproar. Many families have members that are recipients of DACA, and with this government aid being in the process of termination, these families have high chances of being broken apart. Some MACES students are part of these families, enduring the drastic changes occurring to them and their families if the program is terminated. “Many of my family members are recipients of the DACA program, and it’s devastating knowing that they have a high chance of getting deported,” a student who wishes to remain anonymous said. 

Many don’t see this as one of President Trump’s campaign promises, many see these actions as just the beginning of a domino effect of changes. Trump is ending laws that were once made to arm people and give them the opportunities not offered in their home countries.  If society doesn’t put a stop to it what will it lead up to?