Many of the juvenile beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) were affiliated with gangs and had arrest records when granted the program's benefits, according to a new report.
- George Fishman of the Center for Immigration Studies this week released a report highlighting how many criminal immigrant youths qualify for DACA but face few consequences.
Background
- Only "young people who are poised to contribute to our country and have met strict requirements regarding moral character and criminal history would be eligible," said then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano in 2011.
- "These individuals do not pose a risk to public safety" and are not a threat to national security.
The DACA application form asks if the potential beneficiary has ever been a member of a gang, killed or seriously hurt someone, committed sexual assault, or “ever been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, including incidents handled in juvenile court, in the United States.”
- Certain misdemeanors aren’t deemed significant enough to bar someone from DACA eligibility.
- USCIS may consider granting DACA protections even if someone was arrested or detained and charges were filed.
Regardless of one's views as to the 'deservingness' of illegal aliens brought to the U.S. as minors by their parents, those who are criminals should surely face immigration consequences.
- "The lasting devastation to the lives of crime victims and their families is not wiped away simply because the perpetrators are minors, even if those minors were 'brought to the [United States] through no fault of their own.'"
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