by Alexander O. Onukwue
There are sure to be many Nigerians affected by the cancellation of DACA announced by the Trump administration yesterday, those who were taken to the United States as children by their parents fleeing the – well – harsh conditions of the country before June 2007, and have remained undocumented.
These persons may be students, who may or may not have gone to the US due to their parents. Or they could have got to the states through other means, perhaps sneaking off a conference or bailing on a contingent of summer camp attendees.
Either way, you have got to feel for those persons who have passed the rigorous screenings required to obtain the two year renewable permits guaranteed by DACA whose permits will expire after the 5th of March 2018 and not be renewable. Unless the US Congress intervenes before then and enacts a permanent bill that regularizes their status to create a path to citizenship, it would be a harrowing unhappy experience to have to return to the country after being away for about 10 or so years.
If it’s any relief, the country is probably not the same as when they left and the country was announced as having exited the recession on the same day Jeff Sessions announced the end of DACA. America may be bleak now but there are growing opportunities now in Nigeria for building more diverse careers.
Right?
Leave a reply