(TruthAndLiberty.com) – During the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program’s first five years around 79,000 of those undocumented minors who were protected from deportation had an arrest record.
According to the latest data released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the majority of the recipients were between 19 and 22 years old at the time of their arrests.
President Joe Biden recently announced that the protection for DACA recipients would now be expanded making more employment opportunities available to them. Former President Barack Obama had been the one to originally establish the program in 2012 through an executive order. DACA eligibility depends on a variety of factors, including having been brought into the country under the age of 16, and being below the age of 31 on June 15, 2012.
The Biden administration is now working to ensure that DACA recipients are given access to federal health insurance. The Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed the program which could impact around 100,000 people under the Affordable Care Act.
While DACA has faced a number of legal challenges, and a federal judge had previously found it to be illegal twice, supporters have advocated for DACA recipients’ citizenship, pointing out that they have made important contributions to the U.S. society and economy. However, some have argued that recipients who have a criminal record should face deportation.
The USCIS reports noted that close to 80,000 illegal foreign nationals who had an arrest record were given DACA protection.
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