Last month, President Donald Trump announced that he is ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program (see "Dreams on Hold"). That initiative protects from deportation undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Trump gave Congress until March to come up with a new law that will protect DACA recipients, known as Dreamers.
Yet Congress has failed for years to pass lasting immigration reform. This cartoon comments on the situation. It uses classic symbols to represent the Democratic Party (the donkey), the Republican Party (the elephant), and the U.S. (the Statue of Liberty). Study the cartoon, then answer the questions.
1. Why might the Dreamers be depicted as a child?
2. How is the Statue of Liberty treating the Dreamers?
3. What does the characters’ body language tell you about them?
4. What message is the statue giving both political parties?