Tweet

Fear and concern have filled the minds of seven Grand View students over the past few weeks. They are apart of a threatened group of around 5,500 young adults in Iowa who are participating in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The fear of the program ending detoured many of the nearly 1 million eligible undocumented immigrants from joining when the program began in 2012. The idea of adding their name to a list that could lead to their deportation or that of their families, caused only around 800,000 to join nationally over the course of the last five years.

When President Donald Trump announced the possible termination of DACA on Tuesday, September 5 — unless Congress can agree on a reform plan — many with DACA status began to fear their names would fall onto the deportation lists as early as March 2018.

A Deeply Personal Problem

“People don’t like to say they are DACA because they are scared,” Giselle Sancen Valero said. “There are 11 million of us (undocumented individuals), but people don’t want to speak about it.”

Valero was 16 when she obtained DACA status. With DACA she was able to get her first job, take driver’s education classes, and obtain a Social Security Number, which means she could get her first job. At that age a typical American16 year old is worrying about getting their driver’s license, talking about the homecoming dance, or debating if their school would win the football game that week. Valero didn’t have that type of life.

Despite the perks of DACA, Valero still encountered obstacles. Life as an undocumented student meant the future for Valero’s higher education was going to be difficult. Most federal aid, grants, and scholarships aren’t available to someone in her case.

Life was complicated in her home life too. At that point in her life, her mom was gone all the time working multiple jobs. Her dad was deported from the United States when she was 12. Her mom was completely alone raising her and her brother, Alexis. “She wanted me and my brother to have as normal of a life as we could,” Sancen said.

The weight of college and affording college was weighing heavily on her shoulders her senior year. Referring to the many people her age who don’t continue on in school right away, Valero said, “I was just going to start working; I wouldn’t be the only one.”

Valero described a routine process for starting her college search. She found herself scrolling to the bottom to see if the requirement of funding was being U.S. citizens were listed. She would quickly move to the next one, knowing that 99% of aid she found she could never receive. Valero said she continually thought to herself, It’s not fair…it’s not fair… it’s not fair.

“With Laurie Butz, a counselor at Lincoln High School, holding my hand…guiding, me through the process, I applied to Grand View,” she said This came after Valero toured and spoke with many schools in the state of Iowa. “I wasn’t thinking about prom or graduation; I was thinking of if I was going to go to college.”

A phone call telling her she was selected for a full-ride scholarship through Grand View because of her status was just the beginning. She described the day she found out; “I felt like I was flying. It completely changed my view on my life and the opportunities I had…I was crying.”

In April of 2019, Sancen’s DACA status will expire. She is left with support to stay strong and finish school and continue fighting for what she believes is right. She says her plan is to reevaluate things when the time comes, but right now she is doing what she is supposed to be doing by continuing to work hard and get her degree.

The idea of having to go back to Mexico after a life in the United States is very upsetting to her. Valero says that if that were the case, she would aim to work for an international business in hopes of returning as soon as possible. This is one of her worst fears.

Trump’s Take

“Before we ask what is fair to illegal immigrants, we must also ask what is fair to American families, students, taxpayers, and job-seekers,” President Donald Trump said in a recent announcement about DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).

Trump made a promise to his supporters during his campaign for the presidency that his first order of business would be to revoke DACA. Now, nearly 10 months into his position, he has taken action but maybe not by choice. According to Vox, a group of Republican state officials from 10 states threatened to sue Trump if he doesn’t end the program. A leader of this threat is Republican Congressman, Steve King of Iowa.

“Live in the shadows, and if you get crossways with the law, then the law requires they be placed in criminal proceedings and go home,” King said in a statement to CNN. “I think there’s justice there, but we need to provide justice.”

The unheard argument of the DACA decision is why Trump and other Republicans would want to end the program. Trump mentioned many reasons why he made a decision to repeal DACA, but he emphasized three main points in his many speeches and announcements on the topic: law, employment and security.

As a country, the main sense of security comes from the law. That leads to the question of whether or not the DACA program is actually breaking the law by opening up our borders. Attorney General of the United States, Jeff Sessions, argued for DACA’s illegality in his announcement about the program.

“To have a lawful system of immigration that serves the national interest, we cannot admit everyone who would like to come here,” Sessions said. “That is an open border policy, and the American people have rightly rejected it.”

The opening of our borders has led to a major upwelling of young immigrants into our country causing danger to citizens. Some of the immigrants have been involved in the violent gang, MS-13. The gang, which has been spreading across our nation and increasing in numbers, has killed multiple people and the border is still open.

Trump said he believes the only way to banish or defeat the gang is by closing our borders and building a wall to keep our country safe.

The second incentive to end DACA has to do with employment and wages in the workplace for U.S. citizens. Many people look at the positives of having immigrants in the workforce, but Politico writer Brian Stauffer has been studying the effects of immigration for nearly 30 years. During this time, he has found both negative and positive impacts. His research indicates that every time an illegal immigrant gets a job, an American citizen gets one taken away.

The third most talked about concern driving Republicans to end DACA is the amount of taxes, if any, that are paid by DACA members. The amount of money paid by illegal immigrants is hard to track due to the number of birth certificates and social security cards that are bought by illegal immigrants when they enter the states. Alexia Fernandez Campbell, writer for The Atlantic, tries to clarify this.

“It’s true that not all undocumented workers pay federal income and social security taxes; many are still paid in cash and never fill out W-2 forms, so it’s unclear how many of them independently file tax returns as self-employed contractors,” Campbell said.

Although there is no way of actually knowing how many illegal immigrants pay taxes, The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that about half pay income taxes. This being said, who is absorbing the tax lost by those who don’t pay? Truth is, the American citizens are. Sometimes, taxes might even be going to pay for another illegal immigrant to enter the country.

With all the talk and all the threats, there has been progress on the decision to end the program. While many may think the plan is to immediately kick all the immigrants out of our country, that isn’t necessarily what is happening. Trump’s proposal was simply to make a transition. Even though new applicants aren’t going to be accepted, DACA members have until their expiration date to find an alternative situation. Lindsay Walters, a White House spokesperson, told CNN that it could maybe even lead to citizenship at some point.

The administration promises to handle the situation with “heart and compassion,” but they must first consider the American people.

“Above all else, we must remember that young Americans have dreams too,” Trump said. “Being in government means setting priorities. Our first and highest priority in advancing immigration reform must be to improve wages and security for American workers and their families.”

How We Got Here

When DACA was first established under the Obama administration in 2012, there were several requirements to be eligible. Applicants had to be under 31 years of age when the program started. They needed to prove that they had arrived in the U.S. before the age of 16 and that they had lived in the U.S. continuously since June 15, 2007. They also had to be enrolled in high school or college or serving in the military.

Some of those that wish to repeal DACA believe that these people cause trouble and add to the crime rate. That is not true since DACA applicants are not allowed to have any criminal record.

Those who were approved became known as DREAMers. To date, approximately 800,000 people in the United States have become DREAMers thanks to the DACA program.

Alex Piedras is the director of the multicultural programs at Grand View University. He said he believes these numbers could have been higher, but some chose not to participate.

“We have many other people who were skeptical,” Piedras said. “They were afraid something like this (repeal) might happen. The government would then have all their info and where to find it, so they chose not to risk that.”

Iowa Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg, a Republican, doesn’t believe these people will be targeted if the program ends. In an interview with ABC 5, he said the priority should remain on criminals.

“Our position is that we don’t think it makes sense to prioritize resources on children who did not make an affirmative decision to come here and break the law,” Gregg said. “Instead, the Federal Government’s limited resources should be primarily focused on folks who are here illegally and have committed a crime.”

Recently, the number of new applicants has begun to trail off. Since 2015, over 50 percent of all applications have been renewals.

The state of Iowa has approved 2,812 individuals since the program began. By comparison, California is the state with the most people approved at over 223,000.

It is sometimes easy to forget that DACA helps more than just those coming from Mexico and other Central American countries.

South Korea has the sixth-highest number of DACA approvals with 7,282 applicants and over 10,000 renewals. DREAMers have also come from the Philippines, India, Poland, and Pakistan, just to name a few.

With so many students having benefitted from the DACA program over the years, it can be a scary feeling to know that the rug could be pulled out from beneath them if the program is not renewed.

“It would create a fear factor where these individuals would have to go back into the shadows,” Piedras said. “Those that won’t be able to continue working won’t be able to afford to come to places like Grand View.”

Iowa Representative Steve King, who is known for having a tough stance on immigration, echoed that statement when he told reporters these DREAMers can continue to live in the shadows.

“They continue to live the objective that they sought to achieve when they illegally entered America,” King said. “Live in the shadows.”

King told CNN that forcing the young immigrants into this scenario was “justice.”

The students wouldn’t be the only ones who lose out on the benefits the DACA program provides. Each individual school would lose people that could mean a lot to them.

“The students would stop being part of our community,” Piedras said. “There would also be a financial loss from losing students that pay their own way.”

Piedras said he hopes that those who wish to repeal DACA will do some more research and see all the opportunities and benefits the program provides.

“I hope they find out what DACA is and find out the huge financial benefits that these people do for our county,” Piedras said.

Local Impact

Regardless of people’s personal feelings about DACA, there’s no denying that much is at stake for the estimated 5,500 DACA students here in Iowa. But how would a potential repeal of DACA impact the local community? It’s a question that’s hard to answer. After reaching out to a number of educational institutions around the Des Moines area, the responses varied from estimation to annoyance. Jill Johnson, the Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations at Simpson College in Indianola, IA responded, “Simpson does not, nor does it intend to, maintain any list tracking students’ documentation status.”

At Grand View University, the situation is not much different. “For Grand View, we do believe that we have up to seven DACA students, but then again this is something that no one goes around promoting it and we don’t ask either,” said Alex Piedras, the Director of Multicultural and Community Outreach.

According to Piedras, students are not required to inform the school of their current status as a participant of the DACA program when they apply.

“When I was an admissions counselor, people filled out their application and you take it at their good word that they have the status to be here,” Piedras said. “But I am aware of a least a couple of undocumented students, way before DACA, that have gone through our system and graduated.”

This seems to be the case at most universities in the area. According to Katharine Suski, the Director of Admissions at Iowa State University, they do currently ask for DACA status on their applications but do not keep track or even follow up with their students once they are accepted. Suski said. “I would estimate approximately 100 students on campus may be undocumented or have DACA status, but there is no way to know for sure.”

The theme of not asking or following up with students continued down into the Des Moines public school system where their student body is made up of nearly 60 percent minorities. The district did a study of nearly 18,000 students in 2014 about their place of birth. In this study, 14 percent of the students surveyed were born in other countries such as Myanmar, Mexico and Thailand. The survey did not say however if the students were undocumented or apart of the DACA program.

It is hard to know what the impact Des Moines community will see be based on the records, or lack thereof, that have been kept over the past five years.

The question of why this information isn’t kept may be hard to answer for many in the area, but not for Piedras. “We are more in the business of education rather than deportation.”