Opinion: 20 years after the Department of Homeland Security was founded, rethink immigration policy
The Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, turned 20 this March. It was launched in 2003, right around the time I moved to the United States from the Philippines at age 6. I didn’t yet know the impact this gargantuan department would have on my life.
I loved my life as a new American. I learned English quickly, read TIME magazine for kids, and embraced my new red, white, and blue terrain. In those early post-9/11 years, I even shared the belief that strict immigration enforcement was necessary to protect our country from outside “Others.” It hadn’t occurred to me then that, as a child whose family overstayed a tourist visa, I was one of those “Others” too. But gradually, that became all too clear.
As I grew up, I watched news of ICE raiding homes and separating families that looked a lot like mine. While my classmates traveled abroad for summer vacation, I stayed tucked away in my family’s Chicago apartment. Afraid of coming face-to-face with police or immigration authorities, I started to fear all authority figures — even my school principals.
But after 10 years of this, a new window opened: the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an Obama administration policy to help Dreamers like me stay in the country legally. I studied the qualifications and meticulously compared them to my life story. I checked all the boxes. I applied right away.On the one hand, I felt a sense of belonging among the 600,000 Dreamers who qualified for the program. I relished being able to drive a car and work a job as soon as I could.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Dem congressman 'may vote to impeach' Biden's DHS Secretary MayorkasCalifornia Democratic Rep. Juan Vargas said he might vote to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over border wall construction.
Read more »
Gov. Hobbs, DHS Secretary Mayorkas to visit Tucson, southern border TuesdayHobbs and Mayorkas are also slated to meet with humanitarian workers from Casa Alitas, a Tucson shelter that has been tapped for resources recently, providing housing and supplies to legal asylum seekers in Southern Arizona.
Read more »
Department of Agriculture issues large recall after 'wire-like metal' found in beef sold to schoolsA mass beef recall was issued by the United States Department of Agriculture's Food and Safety Inspection Service after a 'wire-like metal' was found in a Minnesota school's product.
Read more »
Texas sheriff tells Congress county 'under siege' as department shares migrant smuggling casesTexas sheriff says his county is 'under siege' while testifying to members of Congress, while his department shares high profile stories of human smuggling on social media.
Read more »
Idaho hospital blames abortion politics for closing of labor and delivery departmentBonner General Health in Sandpoint, Idahox, announced that it was closing the hospital's labor and delivery department, blaming the political climate of the state.
Read more »
The Justice Department’s fight against judge shopping in TexasFour times recently, the Justice Department has objected to the filing of a lawsuit before Texas judges known to be conservatives. The first appeal succeeded.
Read more »