Stop toying with DACA

On June 15, 2012, President Barack Obama stood in the White House Rose Garden and changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants. By his executive order, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program protected them from deportation and granted access to educational and work opportunities that have allowed many of them to thrive.

However, DACA was never meant as a permanent solution. It was a stopgap response to legislative inaction on immigration. Ten years later, the program has proved an unquestionable boon to America, yet these young people without legal permission to be in the U.S. remain in legal limbo as Congress’ disgraceful dithering continues.

To allow a decade to pass is shameful; to allow it to go on any longer would be a tragedy.

DACA recipients have made the most out of the opportunity offered by the program. They have gone to college and launched careers, bought homes and started businesses. They pay almost $3.5 billion in taxes and contribute more than $40 billion annually to the U.S. economy.

The price they’ve paid for living the American Dream has been a decade of uncertainty, of being able to step out of the shadows only to live under a cloud.

DACA recipients need clarity and support, not one more minute holding their breath while they await a court decision that could upend their lives. The way forward was evident to President Obama as he introduced DACA a decade ago.

Congress must give these young immigrants a path to permanent legal status.

Anything less is America’s loss.