DACA turns 10 with Dreamers no closer to solid ground

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program turns 10 years old Wednesday, beset by lingering doubts about both its future and the current protections it grants to young immigrants.

The program, known widely as DACA, was instituted in a moment of crisis after then-President Obama hit a brick wall in his legislative attempts to modernize the immigration system.

For around 800,000 so-called “Dreamers,” undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors, DACA made possible a close-to-normal American life with access to work, education, basic government services and reduced risk of deportation.

But a decade in, DACA is endangered by court actions and political sclerosis, putting its remaining 611,000 beneficiaries at risk of falling back into undocumented status.