In the cruel game that the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program — DACA — has become, its recipients have had some walks, base hits and home runs. But they now are at grave risk of being struck out. And that would be a terrible outcome.
The conservative Fifth District Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard arguments last week seeking both to save DACA and to kill it. The program, created by President Obama in 2012, protects from deportation some young people who, as children, were brought to the United States illegally by their parents or other adults. DACA, rightly, also grants them work permits when they’re of age.
The rationale: As young children and teens, they had no choice but to accompany their families. Why punish them by forcing them to leave the country where they have spent most of their lives?
