According to numerous sources, our President Trump has decided to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program created by the Obama Administration. This seems to be latest step in the "America First" anti-immigrant and isolationist policies put forward by the current administration that most Americans do not actually support.
Time and again, immigration has been an integral part of what has actually made America great. Many have argued that immigrants are a drain on public resources and bring crime to our country. But, in fact, the opposite is true. Over their lifespan, immigrants pay more into taxes and federal programs than what they will receive in benefits. Furthermore, native-born Americans are more likely to commit crimes than first generation immigrants.
Up to 800,000 individuals that were brought here as children are protected under DACA. They are given work permits and Social Security numbers. They pay taxes. They cannot be convicted of felonies or misdemeanors while under the program. In fact, up to 72 percent of the top 25 Fortune 500 companies in the United States employ DACA participants. Companies that include the likes of Apple, Facebook and Amazon.
I cannot even begin to comprehend how it is beneficial to the U.S. economy to end protections for these individuals. That aside, I cannot even imagine ending protections for these individuals and deporting them from the only home they have ever known. It is cruel, unethical, and nonsensical. It does not represent what America stands for and it definitely will not, "Make America Great Again."
Geier lives in Fargo.
