Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), established by President Obama in 2012, provides work permits and protection from deportation to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. The program has strict eligibility requirements as recipients must be either currently enrolled in school or the military or have already graduated or gotten a GED and have no criminal record (Liptak). Although this program receives the “broad, bipartisan support” of most Americans, the most vocal people are those who oppose it and have put increased pressure on Trump to end the DACA program. This jeopardizes the lives of over 700,000 immigrants in the U.S. (Liptak, Russonello). The Supreme Court is currently deciding the constitutionality of Trump’s decision to end the program and consequently the fate of DACA and its recipients. As children, DACA recipients are considered cultural citizens because of the education system’s role in assimilation, however as they transition out of public school, only those who attend college are deemed “deserving” of protection from deportation by American citizens.
Despite the undocumented status of DACA recipients, their inclusion in the K-12 public school system allows them to participate culturally in this country on a deeper level than older undocumented immigrants. Their young age and enrollment in school drive American citizens to have an overall positive view of these immigrants. Immigrant children are viewed as capable of assimilating and adopting “American values” which are often taught in the school system and therefore the children are more deserving of protection from deportation. According to Gonzales in his book Lives in Limbo, “legal integration into K-12 schools allows [undocumented immigrants] a more stable point of entry into American society” (9). For the period that they are enrolled in school, these undocumented children “learn the rules of society, discover the world around them, and form attachments to people and institutions and places,” meaning that they are culturally incorporated into American society (Gonzales, 12). For example, one aspect that characterizes mainstream U.S. culture is the ability to speak English, something that is taught in schools which allows for “high levels of language assimilation” (Jimenez and Waters, 109). Although these children’s lack of legal status still exists, it is mitigated by their participation in integral aspects of U.S. society which buffers the feelings of exclusion that occur when they transition into adulthood.
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Furthermore, just as immigrant children are exposed to mainstream American culture through participation in schools, the U.S. educational system has adapted to include aspects of immigrant culture, further embedding immigrant children in American society. The presence of immigrants in schools has led to the promotion of diversity and inclusion through initiatives such as cultural celebration days. These days not only allow immigrants to feel socially accepted in school but also allow established students a valuable learning experience as they can acquire a better understanding of different cultures. For example, in Silicon Valley, most schools have an “International Day” or “Diversity Day” where “students display the artistic and culinary features of their respective ethnic culture.” In Cesar Chavez Elementary School, they even have Cinco de Mayo celebrations (Jimenez, 82-83). According to Jimenez, the “primary audience for these public displays of ethnic culture” is the immigrants whose culture is being celebrated but also the children who are not connected to those cultures (Jimenez, 83). Schools have acted as a path for relational assimilation as they provided undocumented students with a platform not only to learn about American values and participate in mainstream customs but also to influence school social norms thereby allowing other established students to learn more about cultures around the world.
This celebration of diversity is not only on an individual school administration level. States have also enacted inclusionary “policies aimed at integrating immigrants” to “provide important opportunities for undocumented residents to establish connections, form relationships, and participate in the day-to-day life of their communities” (Gonzales, 6). Through school and state initiatives aimed to make these undocumented immigrants feel socially included in American society, they become cultural citizens of this country. However, as they grow up and leave the school system, they cross back into liminal legality, an “indefinite” state where their “lives are characterized by uncertainty and instability” (Gonzales, 9). Despite their cultural inclusion in American society, these immigrants are legally excluded because of their undocumented status. This legal exclusion affects every aspect of their lives as simple “acts such as driving, waiting for the bus, or socializing in a public park can lead to police questioning, detention, and deportation” (Gonzales, 6). These effects of their illegal status become glaringly apparent to DACA recipients as they transition into adulthood and watch their peers get to work, obtain a driver's license, and enjoy the benefits of legality that undocumented immigrants are denied.
As they transition into adulthood, and therefore illegality, there are two paths undocumented immigrants typically take. They either exit the educational system and join the workforce (early exiters), or they prolong the sense of legality provided by school by continuing on to higher education (collegegoers) (Gonzales). One factor that plays a role in which path these immigrants take is the tracking system in schools. When immigrants are placed on a lower track, it “undercuts their ability to form trusting relationships with high-achieving peers, teachers, and other school personnel” which then cuts back on the support networks of those students (Gonzales, 14). This can have drastic consequences as Waters and Jimenez point out that “low educational levels of Mexicans and other Central Americans remain a cause for concern because…they are still very much at risk of poverty” due to a requirement of higher education for most jobs and lower wages for jobs that don’t require higher education (Waters and Jimenez, 108). Those who are on the higher tracks in school have “positive and affirming experiences” that buffer the feelings of illegality while those who exit the school system early “face a dramatic shrinking of their worlds” as their illegal status becomes more evident and exclusionary when they try to find work (Gonzales, 15). Eventually, early exciters adapt to their status by “settling for lower wages” and “limiting ambitions about educational attainment and occupational mobility” (Gonzales and Raphael, 12). Collegegoers also face their own set of hardships due to the financial burden of school and feelings of isolation, however, college still mitigates the “constraints of illegality” and gives them a strong sense of cultural citizenship, allowing them to more vocally advocate for support and resources (Gonzales, 151-155).
Although young DACA recipients are seen as deserving, based on the path they take as they transition into adulthood, they may be seen as deserving or undeserving by the public. In order to garner public support for DACA recipients, they are painted as innocent and model immigrants which “appeals to all who love the American dream” (Gonzales, 27). Media and court cases focus almost exclusively on the immigrants who take the college path, as they are seen as the ones who are cultural citizens and deserving of protection from deportation. For example, even Trump has expressed support for DACA recipients by tweeting “Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military?” (Liptak). In highlighting DACA recipients as “young,” educated,” and “accomplished,” Trump is implying college educated DACA recipients belong and contribute to this country which reflects the broader public opinion that “immigration is generally a good thing” (Rusonello). However, as the Supreme Court makes its decision about DACA, Trump has changed his rhetoric to claim that DACA recipients are undeserving of protection from deportation as they are “no longer very young,” “far from angels,” and “some are very tough, hardened criminals” (Liptak). According to Flores, Trump's previous positive comments on DACA recipients had no effect on public sentiment, however this vocal anti-immigration rhetoric today does have “ephemeral” effects on public sentiment because of Trump’s extensive media coverage (Flores, 1650). Gonzales and Raphael also observed “vocal support at least among Republican primary voters for presidential candidates emphasizing a nativist agenda,” further proving Flores’s point that the negative comments against immigration are more impactful than positive ones (Gonzales and Raphael, 9). In order to push his nativist agenda and paint DACA recipients as undeserving, Trump has focused on early exciters and claimed they are undeserving of protection from deportation because they are not the “angels” that the public views collegegoers to be.
DACA recipients start as cultural citizens in K-12, however as they take different paths to transition into adulthood and illegality, those who continue to college are seen as deserving of protection from deportation while those who exit the school system are not. This notion of deserving and undeserving stems partially from the school system. Although schools provide undocumented children with a path to cultural citizenship and a platform to relationally assimilate, the system of tracking leaves behind some immigrants and categorizes them as “undeserving”. As the Supreme Court makes its decision about DACA, it must remember that collegegoers and early exiters are both equally deserving of protection from deportation as they have already socially and culturally integrated into society from K-12. Furthermore, both face hardships as they inevitably transition into adulthood and feel the full impact of their illegal status. If the U.S. really wants “good, educated and accomplished” young people, the country must offer DACA recipients a path to citizenship so these immigrants are no longer held back by their illegal status and can be both cultural and legal citizens.
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