On July 6, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents arrested a 21-year-old female Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient for smuggling three Mexican nationals into the United States. The suspect -whose DACA status was expired – was detained in her vehicle by Border Patrol agents in the Dome Valley area of Yuma, Arizona. During the vehicle stop, authorities ascertained that the driver was a DACA recipient and the front passenger was unlawfully present in the U.S. Two more illegal aliens were discovered concealed in the trunk.
This blatant disregard of our nation’s laws should call into question the narrative surrounding DACA recipients. Open-borders groups rejoiced in the Supreme Court’s ruling last month that concluded the Trump administration’s had failed to follow proper administrative procedures in trying to terminate the unconstitutional program.
Proponents of the program often claim DACA participants are “hard-working,” upstanding residents with a lesser propensity to engage in criminal behavior than native-born Americans.
In November of last year, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) delivered a tough blow to that ongoing narrative, releasing an updated report detailing the arrest rates of illegal aliens seeking DACA enrollment. They found that of the 765,166 applicants approved for DACA – 79,398 or 10 percent had a prior arrest. The criminal charges included murder, rape, robbery, weapons violations, and immigration-related infractions.
The staggering data shed light on an often unaddressed reality of DACA.While not every DACA recipient is a criminal or public charge, one should not be fooled to think every participant of this program is a valedictorian or esteemed medical doctor. The DACA recipient who smuggled three illegal aliens is a prime example of someone who does not abide by the rule of law and disregards the borders of the U.S.
A proper policy prescription should be rooted in expanding efforts to identify criminal offenders of DACA and promptly deporting them. Congress and the White House ought to formulate a reasonable solution to DACA recipients, one that puts the American citizens first and does not place the lives or tax dollars of American citizens at risk. A part of the solution is to provide the remaining funds to complete the protective barrier along the southern border to decrease unlawful entries.
