Former President Obama said Dreamers are “being demonized and treated as enemies” in a social media post marking the 13th anniversary of his administration establishing the creation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
“DACA was an example of how we can be a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws,” Obama said of the program, which was implemented to provide young immigrants who grew up in the United States temporary protection from deportation.
“And it’s an example worth remembering today, when families with similar backgrounds who just want to live, work, and support their communities, are being demonized and treated as enemies,” he continued.
The former president’s post comes after authorities conducted several workplace raids across California in recent days, detaining employees and stunning business owners.
In response to the raids, Los Angeles saw a wave of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which devolved at times into violence. President Trump deployed the National Guard to address the demonstrations, over the objections and criticism of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats.
The Trump administration has since directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to pause raids against select industries, citing a need to protect businesses as they lose “long time workers,” whose jobs are “almost impossible to replace.”
Obama has previously expressed his support for DACA, saying in 2022 that the program has helped recipients to stop living in fear and instead live freely in the country in which they grew up.
There are more than 530,000 active DACA recipients as of December.
“We can fix our broken immigration system while still recognizing our common humanity and treating each other with dignity and respect,” Obama said in his Sunday post. “In fact, it’s the only way we ever will.”
