For Immediate Release: August 15, 2024
Contact: Michael Earls: [email protected]
TheDream.US and Gaby Pacheco Reflect on DACA Anniversary and Current Opportunities for Dreamers
Gaby Pacheco: “[I]n the face of DACA’s uncertainty and the continued legislative gridlock … it’s all the more important to ensure the success of additional policies and initiatives to support Dreamers’ opportunities. This includes the new D-3 waiver guidance and its potential to streamline eligible Dreamers’ access to an employment-based visa.”
Washington, DC – The following is a statement from Gaby Pacheco, President and CEO of TheDream.US, assessing the anniversary of the official start of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and the current moment facing Dreamers. DACA was announced on June 15, 2012 and went into effect on August 15, 2012.
According to Gaby Pacheco, President and CEO of TheDream.US:
“When I think back to the first day of DACA’s implementation, I recall all the courage, all the hard work, and all the nervous energy that had preceded that day as we fought for DACA and then worked to ensure a smooth implementation.
The images of eager applicants, waiting in line with their loved ones in cities across America to apply to join the program, brought overwhelming joy, knowing that hundreds of thousands of lives and families would be improved and our country would be strengthened in the process. In the following years, we all felt a sense of profound gratitude and accomplishment in seeing so many DACA recipients, including TheDream.US Scholars and Alumni, rely on the opportunities provided by the program to do remarkable things. Little wonder DACA is one of the most successful and popular immigration programs in U.S. history.
Yet reflecting on DACA’s anniversary also is bittersweet, to know that despite its proven importance, the program and its recipients face a tenuous future due to ongoing legal challenges that already have barred new applicants. Meanwhile, the long overdue answer – legislation that replaces the temporary status of DACA and includes a way for Dreamers to become permanent American citizens – remains unfulfilled despite its popularity.
Despite these frustrations, we know that Dreamers with and without DACA continue to persevere and succeed. Just look at a few of the key takeaways from our recent Alumni survey to see reminders of why opportunities for Dreamers benefit all of us.
We also know that in the face of DACA’s uncertainty and the continued legislative gridlock around the Dream Act and similar measures, it’s all the more important to ensure the success of additional policies and initiatives to support Dreamers’ opportunities. This includes the new D-3 waiver guidance and its potential to streamline eligible Dreamers’ access to an employment-based visa.
On this DACA anniversary day and beyond, we remain committed to supporting the evolving needs of Dreamers and their critical role in helping move our country forward.”
About TheDream.US
TheDream.US is the nation’s largest college and career success program for undocumented immigrant students, having provided more than 10,000 college scholarships to Dreamers attending over 80 partner colleges in 21 states and Washington, DC. We believe everyone, regardless of where they were born, should have equitable access to a college education, a meaningful career, and opportunities to contribute to the communities they call home. For more information on TheDream.US, visit www.thedream.us.
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