Opinion: DACA shouldn’t be eliminated

Recently, lots of talk has been going around about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act. DACA was put into place by then-President Barack Obama in 2012 to allow children who came over with their parents without documents to stay here as long as they meet certain requirements. It allows them to stay in the United States without fear of being deported, and it gives them a permit to work here.

In September, it appeared President Trump and Congress were prepared to extend DACA protections for the foreseeable future, but the program’s future is now hampered by uncertainty.

In my opinion, DACA is a great program. I don’t understand why some lawmakers are trying to end it.

These undocumented children — some are now adults — who came here as youth did not have a say in whether to move here. Most probably don’t even realize they are here illegally.

DACA has protected more than 800,000 people who came over here since 2012. Most of these people abide by American laws and contribute to society.

Studies have shown that DACA recipients contribute about $2 billion a year to the U.S. economy.  It isn’t fair that nearly 1,000 could have their DACA protections taken away from them.

Data has shown that 80 percent of DACA recipients are from Mexico, but there is still 20 percent of people who aren’t from there. Deporting these people would be challenging because they come from all over the world.

Not only has DACA provided potential employees to fill jobs, studies have shown that more than 5 percent of these people have started their own businesses, which provides more jobs to those who live here in the United States.

I firmly believe this is a good program and should not be eliminated. These people might not be U.S. citizens, but they did go through a process to be here, and they try to survive while contributing to our country and its economy.

They may not be legal citizens, but they are paying taxes, work here legally and have gone about living here in the best way that they can. Who are we to try and stop other human beings from trying to better themselves?