Throughout their lives in the United States, Dreamers have experienced a rollercoaster of emotions: they have worried about their immigration status, hoped that Congress will enact a permanent solution, and resiliently fought against the Trump administration’s attempts to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (“DACA”) program. Unfortunately, Dreamers will continue to experience this rollercoaster of emotions until the government issues a permanent solution for DACA.

In 2012, then-President Barack Obama created the DACA program. This program protects eligible undocumented individuals (also known as Dreamers) from deportation by providing them with temporary legal status.  Moreover, the program grants Dreamers various benefits, including eligibility for work authorization, and state-issued identification.  Due to its various protections and benefits, DACA’s enactment relieved Dreamers of their fears of being deported from the place they call home. Nonetheless, Dreamers’ fears and doubts regarding their undocumented status resurfaced when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened legal action if the DACA program was not terminated by September of 2017. Feeling pressure from Texas and other states, the Trump administration rescinded DACA in September 2017. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a longtime opponent of the DACA program, announced “[w]e cannot admit everyone who would like to come here. It’s just that simple.” Sessions missed one key detail—Dreamers did not choose to come to the United States illegally, they were brought here as children.