Study Finds DACA Encourages Undocumented Kids to Stay in School, as Congress Ponders Their Future
February 14, 2018
By: Matt Barnum
Source: Chalkbeat
Giving undocumented young people protection from deportation came with a big education bonus: It made them more likely to finish high school and enter college, according to a study released earlier this week.
It’s new evidence suggesting that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, benefits individual students as well as society as a whole — and comes as Congress continues to debate the fate of DACA recipients. Education advocates from a variety of perspectives have called for extending the program for both human rights and educational reasons.
“America is a nation that welcomes Dreamers and their many talents,” the National Education Association’s head Lily Eskelsen García said late last year. “When we embrace their contributions, the future is brighter for all of us.”