Dozens of DREAMers and advocates gathered around Senator Marco Rubio’s Mami district office on Tuesday, in order to urge the Republican senator to end his relentless attacks on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Although DACA has provided vital protections against deportations and work permits for eligible undocumented children, Senator Rubio has asked President Obama to end the program which the senator believes is largely to blame for the crisis at the border.
Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez, a deputy managing director for United We Dream argued that the senator’s request is both misguided and noted that, “DACA has provided me, and more than half million young immigrants, an opportunity to work and to end my fear of deportation, and Sen. Rubio’s attacks against Dreamers will not stand.”
The DACA program formally began in 2012, and while the program does not grant citizenship it provides a viable path towards citizenship for undocumented minors who came to the U.S. as children. Over 500,000 undocumented minors have been granted DACA protections according to the Migration Policy Institute and can now work and study in the U.S. without the threat or fear of deportation.
Protesters underscored the senator’s inconsistent stance on the issue and highlighted powerful examples of the benefits of DACA which has now been in place for two years. DREAMer Diego Ramirez said, “I came to life again when DACA was announced.” Ramirez continued, “Thanks to DACA, I will be the first in my family to go to college.”
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