Social Action Bulletin #2 - DACA

Contributed by: Sister Pat Wittberg, S.C.

At the Last Judgment, Jesus says, He will invite into heaven those who welcomed him in every stranger they met: “As long as you did this to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to Me.” (Mt. 25:35)    Christ Himself was a stranger, a refugee, as a small child, taken to Egypt by his parents to be safe from Herod.  What if the Egyptian government of that time had erected a wall and border guards to keep Him out?

More than 4,400 young people in Ohio were brought here, like Jesus, as small children.  The Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA) has allowed them to stay in this country to live and work, after passing background checks.  They are honors students in our high schools and colleges, soldiers in our armed forces, budding doctors, engineers, and teachers.  They are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans are.  Many do not read and write – or even speak well – the language of their former homeland.

Last weekend, many of us wrote letters to Congress asking for the passage of the Dream Act of 2017, which would renew DACA’s protection.  It is estimated that ending DACA would cost Ohio more than $251 million in annual GDP losses. [Let us follow up on last week’s letters by calling Congress (800-826-3688) and asking our Senators and Representatives to support the bipartisan Dream Act of 2017! (S. 1615,  H.R.3440) ]