Advocating for the DREAM Act: Why Pediatricians Should Care and What They Can Do.

Abstract

* Abbreviations: DACA — : Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals DREAM — : Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients are undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States before the age of 16, lived in the United States for at least 5 years, have no significant criminal history, and were <31 years of age on June 15, 2012. They are sometimes termed “Dreamers” after the never-passed legislation known as the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. The DREAM Act would provide a path to citizenship for this population. DACA does not. President Trump recently rescinded the executive memorandum that created the DACA program.1 Although his action does not take effect immediately, it leaves nearly a million Dreamers in limbo. Unless Congress acts by March 5, 2018, Dreamers’ legal status will expire. Starting on that date, more than 1000 DACA recipients will lose their legal status every day. If that happens, they will lose their ability to work lawfully and to take out educational loans. They will face potential deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This will have both a personal impact and a societal one. One DACA recipient (and a coauthor of this article) described the personal impact: > In the past few months, I have felt the return of that crippling fear. I feel it in my … Address correspondence to John D. Lantos, MD, Children’s Mercy Hospital Bioethics Center, Kansas City, 2401 Gillham Rd, Kansas City, MO 64108. E-mail: jlantos{at}cmh.edu