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For 10 years, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has protected hundreds of thousands of undocumented young immigrants from deportation — allowing them to pursue their careers, meet their educational goals, and contribute more fully to their communities in the only place they have called home.
To mark this momentous day, we invited DACA recipients to share what this milestone means to them. It's clear from the responses that DACA is truly a program that changes lives.
“DACA means I have an identity; I no longer live in the shadows.”
“Everything changed after DACA."
However, even as DACA continues to be a lifeline to immigrant youth, the hard truth is that DACA is not – and never was – a replacement for a permanent solution. The same people whose stories have been changed by DACA are also living with the constant uncertainty of knowing that the best DACA can offer is temporary protection.
“All of this still feels like a dream given that it can be taken away at any time.”
“A path to citizenship would allow me to help the one who helped me get to where I am today. It would allow me to take care of my mom for the rest of her life and it would make it official what is already in my heart that I am already an American.”
Living life in two-year increments destabilizes our communities and blocks people from being able to fulfill their fullest potential. It’s past time for Congress to establish permanent protections for immigrant youth. Learn more about what living under DACA in the past decade has looked like by watching our video today >>>
Thank you for standing with immigrant youth and all those fighting to secure a path to citizenship for immigrants in our country.
With gratitude,
Marielena Hincapié
Executive Director
National Immigration Law Center
