These Dreamers came to this country very young, sometimes as infants, and did everything right. They studied hard, worked hard, and proved to their parents that the risk of coming to America had paid off. Many did not know they were undocumented until they applied to college or tried to enlist in the military. And not only did a piece of paper suddenly stand in the way of their aspirations, it added a threat of deportation to a country they might not know with a language they might not speak.
But rather than accepting defeat and living in fear, so many Dreamers did the opposite: They publicly proclaimed their immigration status. They showed how much the American Dream meant to them, sharing their stories of hope and heartbreak. And they called on their elected officials to do something to fix the system.
That’s who I was thinking about when our administration made it possible for them to apply for work authorization and protection against deportation through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA made it possible for these promising young Americans to continue to thrive in the only country they had ever called home. It lifted the shadow of deportation from people of extraordinary promise. And the results—for them and for us all—cannot be denied, as we’ve seen more than 800,000 people who have received DACA protection now thriving as teachers, service members, business owners, doctors, and parents.
A few weeks ago, I met with several DACA recipients who are excelling in medicine, organizing, and more. To me, they’re exceptional in part because I know they’re not exceptions—there are hundreds of thousands of stories like theirs. We are a better nation—a stronger nation—because of DACA recipients.
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