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Editor's Note:
David Bittan Obadia is a lawyer and analyst on political and international issues.
He is also a columnist for the newspaper El Universal in Venezuela.
He has participated in the World Jewish Congress and is a member of the American Jewish Committee and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain.
(CNN Spanish) -
During the recent electoral campaign in the United States, the Hispanic population was attentive to an issue that is already crucial for them: I am referring to DACA, the Deferred Action program for Childhood Arrivals, which translates into protecting more than 700,000 young people, better known as dreamers, from deportation.
It is unacceptable that DACA is used by some as a political tool and that it keeps a sector of the population living in the country subjected to great stress and permanent psychological pressure for so long.
Human beings at birth cannot choose our parents, our name, sex, the place of our birth;
nor, up to a certain age, can we choose our place of residence.
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With this example we see the true dimensions of the hundreds of thousands of people who, without power of choice, ended up living in the US Furthermore, on many occasions, it is the only place known to them and where they have remained for years.
Many of the dreamers only speak English and do not have roots in the country of origin of their parents or in the country of their birth.
More than 250,000 children are the children of DACA recipients.
More than a figure, this is a reality to which we must pay attention because it is only a matter of time before the Dreamers, when they reach the age of majority, can ask their parents.
Under this premise, it seems totally unnecessary to delay the solution of this serious problem.
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From my point of view, DACA should cease to be a temporary protection and should become a plan that offers immediate legal status and a path to citizenship.
At the time, some judges agreed that Trump's idea of eliminating DACA was "arbitrary and capricious."
Now the work of the Senate is also needed, but above all that President-elect Joe Biden fulfills his promise from the first days of his government and provides some reassurance to the dreamers.
And that a way be opened to achieve a definitive solution to the problem.
In my opinion, DACA recipients should also do their part, showing the American people their reality and their contributions to the country.
They, like other immigrants, are not free in the US: they contribute millions of dollars to the social security system, pay taxes, are a source of business creation, create jobs and also work in the health system.
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This is an example of the size of this group, according to a report by the Justice for Immigrants organization:
“Currently, DACA youth alone add an estimated $ 42 billion to GDP each year.
This means that the positive financial contributions of DACA recipients are almost six times more than the approximately US $ 7 billion that the program costs the United States, ”according to the June report.
"If DACA were to end in the United States, the loss to the economy could be up to US $ 21 billion," the document adds.
I am convinced that DACA, more than being a dream, is already an acquired right.
DACAJoe Biden