A recently released report from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services revealed that the federal government approved nearly 80,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals requestors who had an arrest or multiple arrests, including for violent crime, within the first five years of the program.

The DACA program, created by executive order by former President Barack Obama in 2012, allows “certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several guidelines” to avoid deportation and even apply for work authorization.

'Preserved and fortified DACA.'

The USCIS’ report, “DACA Requestors with an IDENT Response: November 2019 Update,” revealed that from June 2012 to October 2019, the department approved 765,166 of the 888,818 DACA requestors. Of those approved, 79,398 (10.38%) were granted DACA despite having at least one arrest. Of the 77,833 requestors (38.71%) who were denied or their applications were terminated, 30,132 had at least one arrest. Nearly 68,000 of the requestors had a “prior” arrest, and roughly 16,000 had a “later” arrest, the report stated.

The report provided a breakdown of DACA requestors who “received an IDENT response,” which “indicates that an alien ... was arrested or apprehended for a criminal offense or an immigration-related civil offense,” it stated.

The most common type of offense was “driving-related,” followed by “immigration-related,” and theft and larceny. Nearly 7,000 recipients had a prior arrest for drug-related crimes, roughly 4,000 for driving under the influence, over 3,000 for battery, and more than 3,000 for assault. Other types of offenses DACA recipients were arrested for included alleged offenses against family and children, weapon-related, hit and run, probation and parole violations, and illegal sex-related acts. Over 300 of the DACA recipients were arrested on sexual abuse or rape charges, 15 on murder, five on manslaughter or negligent/reckless homicide, and two on child pornography.

The USCIS reported that 54,500 of the approved DACA recipients had been arrested or apprehended once, while 24,898 had multiple arrests or apprehensions. More than 50 illegal aliens who were approved for the DACA program had over 10 arrests or apprehensions, the report stated.

The department also reported the age groups of DACA requestors with prior arrests: more than 87,000 between the ages of 19 and 22, over 46,000 between 23 and 26, and roughly 42,000 between 15 and 18.

The majority of DACA requestors with prior arrests were citizens of Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil, Peru, or Ecuador, the report found.

This month, President Joe Biden announced two executive actions that will expand deportation protections and work opportunities for recipients of the DACA program.

The Biden administration framed the executive action as a plan to “keep families together.”

“Working with advocates and organizers from across the nation, we have rejected hateful attacks on immigrants, preserved and fortified DACA, increased access to affordable health care, and expanded economic opportunity,” Vice President Kamala Harris stated. “Today, we are building on that work by taking bold action to bring relief to an estimated half a million spouses of American citizens who have been here in the country for a decade or more and their children. They deserve our protection, and should be allowed to remain with their families and contribute to our communities while they apply for a green card.” A federal judge has twice ruled that the Obama-era program is illegal. The Supreme Court is expected to decide on a lawsuit, led by Texas, against the DACA program.

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