Why I #SupportDACA And Why You Should Too
Recently I’ve become interested in politics and younger me would have given me a blank stare if I tried to explain to her why. I’ve always been a writer but I enjoy writing fiction where I’m allowed to let my mind run wild and create whatever I want. Up until the last few years I had no interest in anything political. I saw politics as pointless and stressful and didn’t want anything to do with it. And then I realized the importance of getting involved in situations like the recent decision by the president to end the program DACA.
I am a firm believer in treating others how we would want to be treated and relating anything I can back to basic human decency. Above all else, we are to care for our fellow man and try to make the world better in all that we do. Trump’s election, first months of presidency, and recent decision go against everything I believe in. I am an American Citizen. I am of Mixed Descent (Irish, German, West African). I am a Woman. Each of these things that make me who I am have been attacked as of late. From the beginning of Trump’s campaign I have been strongly against the deportation of immigrants. I cannot fathom how people can hold so much hate against those who only seek a better life. I cannot fathom how someone can be a white supremacist or want to “build the wall”. It blows my mind that our country has gotten to this point.
DACA Dreamers are now terrified and emotionally distressed and they do not deserve this. They do not deserve to feel attacked. They do not deserve to feel as if they are not wanted in this country. They certainly do not deserve to be punished for merely living and contributing to society. Roughly 800,000 young people’s lives have been thrown into chaos and why? Because their parents loved them and wanted a better life for them? I’m tired of hearing the argument “they should have done it legally”. It’s easy to make a statement like that when you’re so blinded by your privilege you cannot understand that those in other countries are suffering. The process of becoming a legal citizen is lengthy and expensive and chances are that if you’re running from another country, you do not have the time or finances to become a citizen legally.
There is also the fact that there are still millions of undocumented illegal immigrants who could have applied for DACA and have not. I’m sure now they’re thanking the Heavens for making that decision. DACA Dreamers put the fate of their lives in the government’s hands and chose to be honest and register with this program, trusting that the system would protect them. They were deceived and the country should be ashamed. Donald Trump should be ashamed. Trump supporters who continue to defend his every move should be ashamed. If you are a living breathing human being and you support this horrid act, you should be ashamed.
On a more positive note, I am so proud of my state, the wonderful New York. Governor Andrew Cuomo made a statement that filled my heart with pride. He let the Dreamers of New York know that we will support them and fight for them and will not allow them to be singled out or made to feel less than. I pray that other states follow such notions and that these young people are protected. And I pray for the direction our country is headed in. It is certainly a battle of good and evil right now and I am rooting for the good.
