United States | Lexington

Congress should act now to protect Dreamers

The lame-duck session is America’s best chance to honour its obligation to child immigrants

The competition is admittedly not fierce. Yet in the long history of giving names to bills and executive orders, there has surely been none so packed with double meaning and poignant implication as “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA). That was the name that President Barack Obama gave his order covering hundreds of thousands of people, known as Dreamers, who were brought to America illegally as children. They dreamed of becoming citizens but were at risk instead of being expelled, a danger stayed by Mr Obama’s order.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “When Dreamers are deferred”

Frozen out

From the November 26th 2022 edition

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US Vice President Kamala Harris looks shocked.

Could an “October surprise” upset America’s election?

What last-minute developments might portend for the race

Illustration of blue legs crossing a red dotted line.

Donald Trump is preparing an assault on America’s immigration system

The third in our series of policy briefs


Illustration of scissors cutting a Tax paper in half. The scissors are red and the paper is blue.

What America’s presidential election means for taxes

The second in our series of policy briefs


The Supreme Court begins another contentious term

Guns, vapes, online porn and health care for transgender youth dot the docket

What America’s presidential election means for world trade

The first in a series of eight concise briefs on the consequences of the 2024 election

Checks and Balance newsletter: gender politics in the election 

Both parties are telling very different stories about gender