Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), established by President Obama in 2012, provides work permits and protection from deportation to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. The program has strict eligibility requirements as recipients must be either currently enrolled in school or the military or have already graduated or gotten a GED and have no criminal record (Liptak). Although this program receives the “broad, bipartisan support” of most Americans, the most vocal people are those who oppose it and have put increased pressure on Trump to end the DACA program. This jeopardizes the lives of over 700,000 immigrants in the U.S. (Liptak, Russonello). The Supreme Court is currently deciding the constitutionality of Trump’s decision to end the program and consequently the fate of DACA and its recipients. As children, DACA recipients are considered cultural citizens because of the education system’s role in assimilation, however as they transition out of public school, only those who attend college are deemed “deserving” of protection from deportation by American citizens.
Despite the undocumented status of DACA recipients, their inclusion in the K-12 public school system allows them to participate culturally in this country on a deeper level than older undocumented immigrants. Their young age and enrollment in school drive American citizens to have an overall positive view of these immigrants. Immigrant children are viewed as capable of assimilating and adopting “American values” which are often taught in the school system and therefore the children are more deserving of protection from deportation. According to Gonzales in his book Lives in Limbo, “legal integration into K-12 schools allows [undocumented immigrants] a more stable point of entry into American society” (9). For the period that they are enrolled in school, these undocumented children “learn the rules of society, discover the world around them, and form attachments to people and institutions and places,” meaning that they are culturally incorporated into American society (Gonzales, 12). For example, one aspect that characterizes mainstream U.S. culture is the ability to speak English, something that is taught in schools which allows for “high levels of language assimilation” (Jimenez and Waters, 109). Although these children’s lack of legal status still exists, it is mitigated by their participation in integral aspects of U.S. society which buffers the feelings of exclusion that occur when they transition into adulthood.
Furthermore, just as immigrant children are exposed to mainstream American culture through participation in schools, the U.S. educational system has adapted to include aspects of immigrant culture, further embedding immigrant children in American society. The presence of immigrants in schools has led to the promotion of diversity and inclusion through initiatives such as cultural celebration days. These days not only allow immigrants to feel socially accepted in school but also allow established students a valuable learning experience as they can acquire a better understanding of different cultures. For example, in Silicon Valley, most schools have an “International Day” or “Diversity Day” where “students display the artistic and culinary features of their respective ethnic culture.” In Cesar Chavez Elementary School, they even have Cinco de Mayo celebrations (Jimenez, 82-83). According to Jimenez, the “primary audience for these public displays of ethnic culture” is the immigrants whose culture is being celebrated but also the children who are not connected to those cultures (Jimenez, 83). Schools have acted as a path for relational assimilation as they provided undocumented students with a platform not only to learn about American values and participate in mainstream customs but also to influence school social norms thereby allowing other established students to learn more about cultures around the world.
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