Rep. Chu Celebrates Fourth Anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program

Washington, DC – Today marks the fourth anniversary of President Obama’s announcement of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA allows undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as children to temporarily stay and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation. Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27), released the following statement:

“Four years ago, President Obama created the DACA program to allow undocumented youth who were brought to this country as children to finally come out of the shadows. Since then, DACA has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people in this country, enabling them to obtain a driver’s license, pursue higher education, and obtain a job while no longer living in fear of deportation. But despite this progress, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in particular remain underrepresented in DACA enrollment. In fact, although AAPIs make up 8 percent of those eligible for DACA, only 2.6 percent have actually applied.

“As we await the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Texas, I am hopeful that the Court will rule favorably in expanding this program even further so that more families can come out of the shadows and pursue the American Dream.”