Twelve years ago, former President Barack Obama took executive action on illegal immigration with a move that gave illegal immigrants brought into the United States as children a pathway to citizenship. Now, he is celebrating the 12th anniversary of the move known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
In a tweet to X on Saturday, Obama began, “Twelve years ago today, my administration announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, giving undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as children a pathway to citizenship.”
The former president used the post to note that many of the minors who were protected under the order had grown up and at risk of deportation as Congress never took action to make his executive order permanent.
“Today, most of the original Dreamers are grown. They’re serving their communities as teachers, doctors, lawyers, and having children of their own. But because the program that offered that protection remains temporary, they’re also living in fear of being sent back to a country many of them can’t even remember,” he wrote.
Praising President Joe Biden credit for continuing down the path he laid out, Obama went on, “The Biden Administration has made it easier for DACA recipients to access federal programs, including getting health care through the Affordable Care Act.”
“But until Congress acts, Dreamers will continue to live under a cloud of uncertainty. That’s why I’m calling on Congress once again to pass a permanent legislative solution for Dreamers – one that offers them a pathway to citizenship and makes our immigration system fairer, more efficient, and more just,” the post concluded.
Twelve years ago today, my administration announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, giving undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as children a pathway to citizenship.
Today, most of the original Dreamers are grown. They’re serving…
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 15, 2024
Obama announced DACA in 2012, after saying in 2011 that he lacks power to change immigration law on his own.
“With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive orders, that’s just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed … Congress passes the law. The executive branch’s job is to enforce and implement those laws. And then the judiciary has to interpret the laws,” he stated during a town hall in Washington, D.C..
“There are enough laws on the books that are very clear in terms of how we enforce our immigration system that for me to, simply through executive order, ignore these constitutional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as president. That does not mean, though, that we can’t make decisions, for example, to emphasize enforcement on those who’ve engaged in criminal activity,” he added.
