DACA’s Dark Side Exposed: Hundreds of Protected Illegals Arrested for Crimes
In a d*mning indictment of lax Obama-era immigration policies, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) arrested 261 recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program over an 11-month span last year, with the vast majority—241—boasting criminal records that underscore the dangers of shielding illegal immigrants from accountability.
This revelation, detailed in a letter from DHS to Senate Democrats, highlights how programs like DACA, which grant deportation relief and work permits to those who entered the U.S. unlawfully as children, can harbor threats to public safety.
Of those arrested between January 1 and November 19, 86 were ultimately deported, a move that critics of amnesty argue is long overdue to protect American communities from repeat offenders.
The data emerges amid ongoing scrutiny of DACA, frozen for years thanks to the first Trump administration’s crackdowns and legal battles, leaving just 515,570 individuals still under its umbrella as of mid-last year.
Originally touted as a compassionate fix for so-called “Dreamers,” the program has repeatedly shown cracks, with past reports exposing gang affiliations and smuggling operations among some beneficiaries—issues that forced even the Obama team to tweak rules after initial approvals went awry.
Flawed Protections: How DACA Enables Criminals to Thrive in America
DACA, birthed in 2012 as a controversial end-run around immigration laws, was meant for illegal immigrants who arrived before age 16, stayed in school, and kept mostly clean records.
Yet, its implementation has allowed participants to embed deeply in society, working as lawyers, teachers, and even armed police officers in some states that exploit gun law loopholes barring firearms for non-citizens.
This integration raises alarms about national security and law enforcement integrity, especially when revelations like these arrests confirm that a significant portion of DACA holders aren’t the innocent victims portrayed by open-borders advocates.
The Washington Times has long chronicled troubling cases, including DACA recipients accused of aiding human smugglers, further eroding trust in a system that prioritizes illegal entrants over American citizens’ safety and resources.
With nearly all arrestees tied to criminal pasts, the stats dismantle the myth of DACA as a harmless haven, instead painting it as a potential breeding ground for lawlessness that burdens taxpayers and endangers neighborhoods.
Democrats Defend the Indefensible: Outcry Over Enforcing the Law
Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee blasted the arrests as “deeply troubling,” whining that “These arrests disrupt families, harm communities, and inflict unnecessary social, emotional, and economic costs. And it is a waste of taxpayer dollars.”
They demanded more details from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, questioning her assertion of widespread criminal records without specifics, in what appears as another partisan bid to undermine border security efforts.
Noem pushed back firmly in her response, citing privacy protections: “ICE has determined that disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy of the DACA recipients, which outweighs any public interest of releasing this information without their consent.”
Her stance reinforces the Trump administration’s commitment to transparency only where it doesn’t compromise operations, while prioritizing deportation of threats—a sharp contrast to Democratic calls that seem more focused on coddling illegals than safeguarding the nation from the fallout of unchecked immigration.
