Supporting the Dreamers

OLG JCC - Reflections on Justice and Charity
Supporting the Dreamers, and a path to citizenship
 
As a Catholic parent, I have always been supportive of DACA* and the Dream Act. This policy is the way I would want my children treated if they were in a similar position. Dreamers is the term for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as young children and have lived in America much or most of their lives. Many of these children, now teenagers and young adults, did not discover their official immigrant status until they needed documentation to apply for a driver’s license or college. Dreamers have come here from many different countries, not just Mexico and Central America.

I can only imagine how terrifying it must be for a child to suddenly discover their improper immigration status knowing that you could be arrested and deported at any time. These young people can be separated from friends and family and sent back to their country of origin where they may not even know the language. With no family or other support system, these children, teens and young adults are vulnerable to exploitation. DACA provides protection from unauthorized deportation. 
Catholic Social Teaching realizes the right of a country to regulate borders and control immigration.  But this regulation must be done with justice and mercy. Social teaching states, “A developed nation's right to limit immigration must be based on justice, mercy, and the common good, not on self-interest.”**

These Dreamers are young people who have grown up in our country and made a successful life here. They speak English, are educated, many with technical and advanced degrees. Some are serving in the military or are veterans. They have no criminal records. They are upstanding members of our communities and workforce. I cannot see where any Catholic idea of justice would be served by deporting them or leaving them forever in their vulnerable status with no path to citizenship. It would serve the common good of the U.S. to allow these individuals to apply for legal immigration status.

Recent U.S. polls have shown strong support for legislation to provide legal means for Dreamers to stay in the country. The new administration has urged Congress to enact legislation to allow the Dreamers to apply for permanent residency and a path to citizenship as part of an overhaul of the U.S. immigration policy.

The OLG Justice and Charity Council encourages us as Catholics to communicate with the U.S. Congress – both in the House and Senate to work together in a bipartisan effort to pass legislation to provide Dreamers a path to citizenship and further enact updated immigration policies that are just, merciful and in line with Catholic Social Teaching. One such effort is “The Dream Act of 2021”, a bipartisan bill authored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) just introduced this February.

* Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), is an American Immigration policy launched in 2012. DACA allows young people who were brought illegally to the United States as children, and who meet several key criteria to be considered for temporary relief from deportation or from being placed in removal proceedings. DACA does not provide lawful status for citizenship. Once granted, DACA is valid for two years and may be renewed. Source: https://www.usimmigration.org/glossary/daca

**https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/immigration/catholic-teaching-on-immigration-and-the-movement-of-peoples