A program that has reshaped the lives of scores of undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children turns 10 this week.
Known as DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program shields recipients from deportation and gives them access to work permits – benefits that helped a previously marginalized group lay down roots in communities across the U.S.
Although states near the border with Mexico account for the bulk of DACA recipients, Georgia is home to the eighth largest DACA population in the country: According to data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, there were 19,700 DACA recipients, or “Dreamers,” living in Georgia at the end of 2021. Nationwide, that figure stands at 611,470.
Georgia Dreamers
A report published this week by the pro-immigration advocacy group FWD.us sheds light on the demographics of Georgia’s DACA population, using data from USCIS and the American Community Survey. According to the report, people shielded by DACA in Georgia are now in their late 20s, on average, with most Dreamers having first moved to the country over two decades ago. In Georgia, 77% of Dreamers are part of the labor force, 90% have a high school diploma and 31% have completed some college education. Just over a third of Georgia Dreamers are married and have children of their own.
2022 vs. 2012
In the ten years since DACA’s 2012 launch, program beneficiaries built families and careers. The FWD.us report outlines that evolution. In 2012, 45% of Dreamers were students and 60% were in the labor force. Their median income was $4,000. Ten years later, those initial DACA recipients have a median income of $26,000; with 85% of them being in the labor force and 15% of them being in school.
Credit: Courtesy of FWD.us
Credit: Courtesy of FWD.us
Uncertain future
A defining feature of DACA’s first decade has been uncertainty, with a series of executive decisions and court rulings upholding or undoing key elements of the program on a recurrent basis. The 10-year anniversary finds Dreamers once again standing on shaky ground. Last July, a Texas federal judge ruled the program unlawful and forbade the government from approving new DACA applications, triggering an appeal from the Biden administration. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is slated to begin hearing that appeal within weeks. Its ruling could set the stage for a Supreme Court fight in 2023.
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