DACA, the Obama-era immigration policy that has been providing immigrant protection to “Dreamers” since 2012 was rescinded by the White House Tuesday morning, in a statement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
DACA allows people who were brought to the United States as children to work legally, go to school and live without the looming fear of deportation. Under DACA, their protections only last two years, but are renewable as long as they remain eligible.
The immigration policy signed into effect in the summer of 2012 offered refuge to more than 800,000 childhood arrivals, some of whom live on this campus.
The Beacon editorial board wants to build on University President Fr. Mark Poorman’s message to the campus community on Tuesday. He said, “Let us stand together and reaffirm our pledge to an inclusive environment where all people are welcomed as children of God and valued as full members of our community.”
DACA students belong here. They are wanted here. And we want to greatly emphasize that they have reasons to stay here.
While loud voices may be clamoring in Washington D.C, we condemn any voice that seeks to make a population of this country feel unwanted. The racist and xenophobic motivation for this action is thinly veiled by the empty logic of “respect for the Constitution.” To throw out a population of people with virtually spotless records who have almost always called the U.S. “home” is un-American, and as a campus, we can’t stand for it. We have to help each other.
When the grace isn’t coming from the president of the United States, when the grace isn’t coming from the attorney general, as we wrote back in November, the grace has to come from us.
Pilots need to do more than defend DACA recipients, we need to support our fellow students affected by the rescindment of DACA. Important people on this campus are already working on ways to facilitate this, and The Beacon will be your source of information as these conversations take place. We will cover every resource made available so that no one is in the dark.
But The Beacon can do more than this. As journalists, we are irreverent toward most things, but there is one value that we can put our hearts behind: the power of storytelling. Journalism serves at its best when it is a voice for the voiceless. And in a time when our government wants to silence DACA recipients, deserving of the same dignity and respect as any other American, it is time to make your voices heard.
Let us share your story and make this issue not one of legality, economics or security, but of human beings. Let us give you a platform.
The Beacon will grant anonymity for DACA students who want to share their story. Some people defend your place in this country as a mere economic asset, but your worth stems from something inherent: you are valuable because you are a human being. You have a story that deserves to be heard.
And we’ll go to great lengths to tell it, because the grace has to come from us.
If you are interested in talking to The Beacon about your experience, email News and Managing Editor Olivia Sanchez at sancheol18@up.edu.
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