DACA Is Essential Now More Than Ever

Health workers preparing to screen patients for Covid-19 at a hospital in Brooklyn.
Source New York Times
In the United States, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is doubling every four days reports CNN. The epicenter of the outbreak has been traced back to New York City, where countless of cases have been confirmed.

Health care facilities have been overwhelmed with patients and medical protective gear is running low. Health care workers are among some of the most essential people who are on the frontlines of this pandemic, many of whom are also DACA recipients.

In 2012, the Obama Administration created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program aimed to grant permissions to undocumented migrants who traveled to the U.S. as a child to live, work and study for a two year period that is subject to renewal.

DACA recipients, also known as 'Dreamers', currently make up 27,000 health care workers in the United States. As mentioned before, these are essential people needed to fight this pandemic but with the DACA program hanging on by a thread, some recipients decided to take action.


In a Supreme Court filing made on March 27th, a case was made to vacate the decision on ending DACA due to the essential nature of its recipients. In this filing, it was written that "Termination of DACA during this national emergency would be catastrophic."

The New York Times interviewed Aldo Martinez, a paramedic in Fort Meyers Florida and a DACA recipient. Between the anxiety of losing the ability to stay in the United States and the growing pandemic, Martinez highlighted the importance of essential workers.

Martinez said "We are part of the work force...janitors, workers in grocery stores, people like myself, nurses, doctors. All of us are working toward protecting the public."

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