A Nation Of Immigrants, 'A Nation Of Laws'

WAMU 88.5

Published September 6, 2017 at 10:06 AM EDT

A map of Mexico as it was in 1794 is displayed as young immigrants and their supporters rally in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in Los Angeles, California on September 1, 2017.

I do not favor punishing children, most of whom are now adults, for the actions of their parents. But we must also recognize that we are nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws.

-President Donald Trump

President Trump’s statement Tuesday formally announced that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, will come to an end early next year. DACA protects about 800,000 people called DREAMers — who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children by their parents — from deportation and allows them work permits if they meet certain requirements.

This is not amnesty, this is not immunity. This is not a path to citizenship. It’s not a permanent fix. This is a temporary stopgap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people.

-President Barack Obama

The termination of the program means no new DACA requests will be considered and current beneficiaries will lose their status after March 5, 2018.

The backlash to the action was swift and loud. But the White House calls the decision a “responsible” one.

We take a look at how DACA impacts both the U.S. economy and higher education and ask whether being a “nation of laws” trumps America’s history as a nation of immigrants.

GUESTS

Dan Wallace, Director of Special Projects, New American Economy

Peter Skerry, Professor of political science, Boston College

Tom Boasberg, Superintendent, Denver Public Schools

Catalina Valasquez, President, Consult Catalina; DREAMer

For more, visit http://the1a.org.