Sep 5, 2017

Who's at risk from Trump's DACA decision

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the gradual discontinuation of Barack Obama's DACA program earlier today.

Why it matters: To be approved for the program, individuals must, among other things: be going to school or have received a diploma or GED from high school; be an honorably discharged veteran from the U.S. Armed Services or the Coast Guard; and not have a serious criminal record.

The Center for American Progress, a left-leaning public policy institute, found a large percentage of surveyed DACA recipients were pursuing higher education:

Data: Center for American Progress, National DACA Study, 2017; Note: Out of 1,374 who responded currently in school, 44.9% of the survey's total 3,063. No response not included; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon / Axios
Data: Center for American Progress, National DACA Study, 2017; Note: Out of 1,374 who responded currently in school, 44.9% of the survey's total 3,063. No response not included; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon / Axios

One more thing: An immediate concern was if the government would use the information provided upon application for DACA to find these individuals.A DHS spokesman said recipients' information "won't be proactively shared with ICE or CBP for enforcement purposes, unless an individual poses a risk to public safety or national security, or meets the criteria for issuance of a Notice to Appear or a referral to ICE" under USCIS criteria.

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