A Dreamer responds to President Obama

Mr. President, I was brought to the U.S. when I was 5 years old. I qualified for the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA essentially removed the threat of deportation that loomed for most of my life.

With the most recent executive actions you announced last year, my 70-year-old mother will also now qualify for deportation relief through one of my siblings, who is a U.S. citizen.

{mosads}Of course, these actions are not without controversy, as Republicans are assailing these immigration programs in Congress and in federal court.

Yesterday in The Hill, you expressed “[confidence] that all the steps [you have] taken to fix our broken immigration system will eventually be implemented,” and you are not alone in this view.


Legal scholars from around the country have found your latest immigration actions are constitutional and within your administrative powers. And there are strong arguments that the federal judge in Texas had no basis in law and incorrectly issued an injunction.

We hope that after this legal battle is over, you can embrace executive action as a central element of your immigration agenda in the last two years of your presidency.

It was only few months ago that you denied having the authority to take executive action on this particular matter. Reality is that there was more doubt on presidential will than on presidential authority. I say this this not to revisit the past political fights, but to reflect on the future of immigration reform.

There is no disagreement that a legislative solution is preferred; however, in light of continued congressional obstruction by the far right in the Republican party, the country cannot wait and tolerate an outdated immigration system.

The Republican brand has undeniably taken a beating amongst anyone invested in the immigration question, and even many people unconnected to it see it as a missed economic opportunity, a civil rights issue and one of many vexing problems whose solution has been years, if not decades, late.

Today, we see families broken apart by an arbitrary deportation machine that undermines our national security, drains our enforcement budget and keeps millions in the shadows.

Executive action on immigration is not only warranted, but critical to keep our nation competitive and stable in this century; it is a refreshing break from the bogged-down partisan politics the country has been suffering through, and action is something the public will accept as they see government work again.

Millions of American families support your affirmative stance to defend these programs. Indeed, an overwhelming majority of the American people oppose any efforts to roll them back, according to a CBS poll. And because these programs are keeping millions of families together, Dreamers, like me, will fight by your side to defend them.


The country calls for bold leadership that recognizes the need for immediate action, especially on immigration reform.

There is still more to do, Mr. President.

Vargas is co-director of the Dream Action Coalition and a national advocate for immigration reform.