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DACA and DREAMers: Home

Seen these terms in the news? Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM Act) are explored further in this research guide!

What is DACA?

"DACA is a federal government program created in 2012 under Barack Obama to allow people brought to the US illegally as children the temporary right to live, study and work in America. Those applying are vetted for any criminal history or threat to national security and must be students or have completed school or military service. If they pass vetting, action to deport them is deferred for two years, with a chance to renew, and they become eligible for basics like a driving license, college enrollment or a work permit." -The Guardian

The DACA program was recently ended by the U.S. Government. Read the infographic to the right to see how the program is being phased out and visit uscis.gov/daca2017 to learn more.

DACA 4 year anniversary

DACA celebrates 4 years.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security

Defend DACA Protest

A group of protesters attend a pro-DACA rally.

Source: Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA

Rescission announcement

Resources from Gumberg

(Note: You will have to enter your MultiPass credentials to access these off-campus.)

Use these databases to find books, articles, and more on DACA, DREAMers, and immigration:

Resources from the Web

Who are the DREAMers?

"Those protected under DACA are known as “DREAMers” – by the time Trump announced his decision to rescind the program, 787,580 had been granted approval. To apply, they must have been younger than 31 on 15 June 2012, when the program began, and “undocumented”, lacking legal immigration status. They must have arrived in the US before turning 16 and lived there continuously since June 2007. Most Dreamers are from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and the largest numbers live in California, Texas, Florida and New York. They range in age from 15 to 36, according to the White House. The DACA program was a compromise devised by the Obama administration after Congress failed to pass the so-called Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would have offered those who had arrived illegally as children the chance of permanent legal residency." -The Guardian

Obama shows DREAMers around Oval Office.

President Obama shows a few DREAMers around the Oval Office.

Source: The White House Archives

DACA Google News Feed

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This guide was created by Kelsey O'Rourke, MLIS.