For Immediate Release: February 26, 2026
Contact: Michael Earls at [email protected]
Gaby Pacheco Reacts to New Data Confirming ICE Targeting of DACA Recipients
Watch Gaby Pacheco’s “State of the Dreamers” video HERE and read her statement on the details and implications of the new CBS News report below
Washington, DC – Yesterday, CBS News reported that ICE arrested 261 Dreamers with DACA status in 2025 and deported 86 – this despite the deportation protections that come with active DACA status. Keep in mind, those figures don’t even include the targeting, detention, and deportations of the broader Dreamer population, most of whom do not have DACA protections.
The following is a statement from Gaby Pacheco, President & CEO of TheDream.US (also watch Pacheco’s “State of the Dreamers” address from this week, HERE):
“The report from CBS News confirms something many of us knew was happening but couldn’t verify with specific numbers. Now we can. Dreamers with DACA — young people who have had protection from deportation since 2012 — are being arrested and deported under the second Trump administration.
Let’s be clear who we’re talking about: Young people who came forward. Who gave the government their fingerprints. Who passed background checks. Who paid hundreds of dollars each time to renew their status. Who’ve followed every single rule. For 14 years, they’ve trusted the government. They’ve renewed their status. They’ve passed background checks. And now our government – through ICE – is targeting them. That is betrayal – of a promise made in 2012 and of young people who believed in the rule of law.
Meanwhile, these data don’t even capture the full scope of how this administration is targeting Dreamers, given that most younger Dreamers and current TheDream.US Scholars have been unable to apply into the DACA program and lack related opportunities and protections. All of it makes me angry – and should make you angry too.
President Trump has noted he wants “to do something about Dreamers.” But if he believes in Dreamers’ futures in America, his administration is not following the wishes of the President.
All of this again raises the simple question we should ask ourselves and that I referenced earlier this week: what type of country do we want to be? What type of America do we want to build? One that recognizes Dreamers as valuable parts of American communities and America’s future? Or one that thinks the right way forward for America involves arresting and detaining and targeting Dreamers or denying them opportunities and protections to fully participate in the nation they have grown up in?
I stand with the vast majority of Americans who have already decided and overwhelmingly support Dreamers’ futures in this country. It’s time we finally passed bipartisan legislation like the Dream Act and delivered permanent status for Dreamers and certainty for the nation that relies on them.”
Watch the “State of the Dreamers” address from Gaby Pacheco: HERE,
About TheDream.US
TheDream.US is the nation’s leading organization supporting Dreamers at the intersection of higher education, workforce development, immigration, and advocacy. We’ve awarded over 12,000 scholarships to immigrant youth from 120+ countries and 45 states, with 4,500 graduates to date. We partner with close to 80 colleges in 20 states and Washington D.C. to provide scholarships, career support, and access to legal options that help Dreamers break through systemic barriers and achieve social mobility.
Through data, Scholar and Alumni stories, strategic partnerships, and targeted state and local advocacy, we work to expand equitable access to college, professional pathways, and permanent legal status. For more information on TheDream.US, visit www.thedream.us
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