The Post-DACA Generation is Here

Hello, readers! Today we’re going to talk about an important issue affecting many young people in the United States: the end of DACA and its implications for new undocumented high school graduates.

DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, has been a crucial policy providing protection against deportation and work authorization to undocumented youth who arrived in the U.S. as children. However, current rules have left out the vast majority of this year’s new undocumented high school graduates.

 According to FWD.us estimates, nearly 120,000 undocumented young people will graduate from high school this year, with another 100,000 expected to do so each year for at least the next three years. These young people are part of the larger Dreamer population, those who arrived in the U.S. as children and have lived most of their lives in this country.

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The concerning issue is that starting this year, most new undocumented high school graduates cannot legally enter the workforce, even if DACA were open to new applicants. This is because most graduates from the class of 2023 arrived in the U.S. after the DACA-required arrival date of June 15, 2007.

Even for the small group of this year’s graduates who might be eligible for DACA, accessing its protections has been challenging. Attempts by the Trump Administration to end DACA, combined with court orders interrupting access to new applicants, left only a short window of about six months in 2021 for most of these DACA-eligible graduates to apply. This means that even those fortunate enough to have received DACA during these limited periods of access cannot rely on its benefits in the future, as courts prepare to rule on a lawsuit that could jeopardize the entire DACA policy.

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Without DACA, new undocumented high school graduates cannot legally work, leaving thousands of individuals out of the workforce at a time when the U.S. faces record-high worker shortages, leading to rising inflation. This also cuts off a significant source of income that these young adults could use to fund their higher education and professional training, as well as support their families and build self-sufficiency.

Additionally, thousands of Dreamers live in one of the 26 states where they are denied full tuition equity, meaning that postsecondary education is not even an affordable or accessible option for thousands of undocumented high school graduates this year.

These barriers unnecessarily and unfairly limit undocumented graduates’ ability to participate in the workforce, grow the economy, and contribute to their communities. They also represent a significant waste of years of K-12 education that states have invested in every student to prevent them from advancing if they wish, and another cruel roadblock they face in the country they call home.

 In summary, the current situation poses significant challenges for new undocumented high school graduates, but it also highlights the urgency of comprehensive immigration reform that provides long-term solutions for Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants. The Post-DACA Generation is here, and it’s important that we work together to find ways to support and empower these brave young people who are just looking for an opportunity to contribute to society and build a better future for themselves and their families.