A Time-Space Stream of DACA Benefits and Barriers Gleaned From the American Community Survey

Abstract

This study investigates the educational and economic attainment of Mexican Dreamers over the 4 years since DACA was implemented (2012–2016). A time-space stream of benefits and barriers is evaluated at the national, state, and individual levels. Based on assumptions linking the DACA-eligible to DACA recipients, I examine the annual American Community Survey (ACS) to glean insights not provided elsewhere. At national level, the results suggest that young Mexican Dreamers entered the workforce at higher rates, but college at lower rates, than a control group of Mexican Americans. At state level, in supportive states these Dreamers entered college at higher rates but the work force at slightly lower rates, than they did in restrictive states. At the individual level, it is revealed that DACA strongly promoted college over work for women, but just the reverse for men. These distinctions are bringing about new inequalities within the Mexican Dreamer community in the United States.

Psychological Impact, Strengths, and Handling the Uncertainty Among Latinx DACA Recipients

“…The term Dreamer has been used to describe young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children and who have lived and gone to school here. Instead of the DREAM Act, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) came into effect in 2012 as an executive order by President Obama (Jones, 2020), protecting undocumented immigrant young adults, many of whom were students, from deportation (Gonzales et al, 2014;Nguyen & Kebede, 2017).…”