As pressure on President Donald Trump has built over the dismantlement of DACA, there have been more talks between both political parties and Trump how to come to a more neutral agreement that would not have catastrophic results. Recently, Trump announced his agreement to cooperate with Congress members on both sides of the aisle to work on a deal that would potentially protect hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants from being deported. These new talks show signs of having a potentially positive future for young immigrants affected during this process of getting rid of DACA. If these discussions are to continue — assuming Trump is consistent with his desire to work with Democratic leaders — then the protection of these undocumented people would be a step in the right direction.

Throughout his term, Trump has been known to only discuss potential legislation with Republicans while shutting out Democrats from the democratic process on various issues — with healthcare reform being one of the most prevalent ones. Trump’s determination over the end of DACA has been well covered for the last couple of weeks, but it is a surprise to see a plan change so soon, especially since it is an uncharacteristic maneuver for Trump to reevaluate his plans so quickly. Amid this change of behavior, we can hope that Trump’s willingness to abandon partisanship for progress continues until there is a set new reform that can be applicable in place of DACA.

If Trump’s discussions prove successful, they will lay out a solid groundwork to continue in the right direction of protecting DACA beneficiaries. Young undocumented immigrants are not only essential to the growth of our economy but also the strength of our community. By aiming to protect recipients of DACA rather than deport them, this nation avoids stripping family members, entrepreneurs and community leaders from our communities. In connection to NYU, we can expect that if policymakers go through with their progress, then many of our student DACA recipients will not have their immigration status threatened.

Despite a lack of specificity on what the new policy would include, it is certain that any policies that would be in place that steer away from the total riddance of DACA will be beneficial to the country as a whole and the thousands of undocumented people that have already established a life in the United States from a very young age. The decision to have DACA taken out of its place will cause a negative ripple in the core values of what makes the United States great and accepting, but by hopefully having new policies that would not completely take all the aspects of DACA away, we can regain those values and step towards a more inclusive future.

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