The structural violence of DACA and youth resistance.

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined how youth who have received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) experience structural violence and their responses to that violence. Method: Participants included 20 Latinx individuals, between the ages of 16 and 29, who migrated to the U.S. before age 16. The majority held DACA status. In-depth qualitative, narrative interviews were conducted with each participant. Results: Narratives revealed multiple ways that DACA youth experience structural violence, including (a) challenges with the application process, (b) the financial burden created by the lack of access to federal financial aid for higher education, and (c) fears surrounding DACA. Youth responded to structural violence via (a) paying it forward, (b) radical hope, (c) social support, and (d) undocumented pride. Conclusions: Narratives demonstrate the ways in which young people experience structural violence despite the benefits of DACA and how some resist this violence. Implications for a legislative pathway to citizenship are discussed. Public Significance StatementDeferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is meant to provide legal protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. before age 16. This study found that a number of challenges associated with DACA exist and prevent DACA recipients from receiving full acceptance into U.S. society. Nevertheless, DACA youth report multiple ways that they respond to these challenges, including having radical hope, paying it forward, accessing social support and social capital, and having undocumented pride.

Shifting Between Worlds: Discrimination’s Role in Link Between Civic Engagement and Self-Worth

“…As one's worth is questioned under a society where the former presidential administration recently promoted anti-immigrant sentiment (Wray-Lake et al, 2018), the drive towards activism and civic participation has strengthened. Further, Wray-Lake and colleagues (2018) highlighted that Latinx youth's perceptions of restrictive immigration policies only motivated them to increase their civic engagement, ultimately coming to the defense of their communities and embracing a shared hope (Rivera et al, 2022). This finding is consistent with the positive association between discrimination and civic engagement found in the current study.…”

“…DACA has yet to be fully realized as a permanent program that helps to protect undocumented individuals, and although it provides temporary relief, it also forces others to live in uncertainty, as fears surrounding its dismantlement by the Trump administration spread rapidly. DACA grants undocumented individuals under the age of 31 the opportunity to live and work in the U.S. and is required to be renewed every two years (Rivera et al, 2022). In addition, applicants are required to provide the government with sensitive information regarding their lack of authorization, which presents a great risk for them and their family's safety (Rivera et al, 2022).…”

“…DACA grants undocumented individuals under the age of 31 the opportunity to live and work in the U.S. and is required to be renewed every two years (Rivera et al, 2022). In addition, applicants are required to provide the government with sensitive information regarding their lack of authorization, which presents a great risk for them and their family's safety (Rivera et al, 2022). It is no wonder, then, that many undocumented youth feel determined to advocate for their rights as people who are deserving of mattering in the U.S. (Karras et al, 2022;Moreno et al, 2021).…”

“…The literature further implies that it is common for experiences of anti-immigrant discrimination to manifest due to the systemic contexts through which they are embedded. For example, among young undocumented adults enrolled in post-secondary education, anti-immigrant discrimination may appear as the denial of financial aid opportunities (Rivera et al, 2022) and institutional ignorance by those in powerful educational positions (Muñoz & Vigil, 2018), which renders undocumented students as invisible. Regarding harmful societal perceptions, a study conducted with a sample of Brazilian immigrants found that many participants felt as though their feelings of being discriminated against were primarily due to their racial classification, trouble with speaking English, or being perceived as Hispanic and undocumented, as they were aware of Latinx and Hispanic undocumented individuals being primary targets of anti-immigrant discrimination in the U.S. (Joseph, 2011).…”