More than 800,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children have grown up across the country even as their protection under an Obama-era program is threatened by the courts.
Why it matters: It's been 11 years since the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program launched in June of 2012 to provide work permits and protection from deportation for these so-called "Dreamers."
- The program survived efforts by the Trump administration to dismantle it, but Congress has yet to provide the population any certainty about their future legal status.
- The Biden administration has tried to fortify the policy against legal challenges, but a Texas judge could soon end DACA's protections for more than half a million beneficiaries.
Between the lines: Polling shows that Americans widely support providing Dreamers legal status. That included more than half of Republicans in a 2020 Pew Research Center survey.
- Efforts to turn that support into U.S. law have been repeatedly stalled in Congress.
- The large number of migrants and asylum seekers illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has made Republicans less likely to get behind bills offering protection to Dreamers and other vulnerable groups without first juicing border security.
By the numbers: As of the end of 2022, there were more than 580,000 active participants in the DACA program, according to U.S. government data.
- By total population and per capita, California is home to more Dreamers than any other state — more than 165,000.
What they're saying: "They are our doctors, our teachers, and our small business owners," President Biden said in a Thursday statement. "Dreamers strengthen our economy, enrich our workplaces, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, many served their communities on the frontlines."
- Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) pushed on the Senate floor on Thursday for passage of his bipartisan legislation providing a permanent legal status for the population.
