Editorial cartoon on DACA missed the mark

I take exception to Michael Ramirez’s editorial cartoon published in the Wednesday Review-Journal. It depicts a welcome mat in Mexico on the border with the United States. The word “DACA” is on the mat. The implication is that DACA is a “welcome mat” for illegal immigrants. Nothing could be further from the truth.

DACA does not apply to anyone entering the United States today. Period.

The DACA program was designed for those who were brought into the United States (illegally) by their parents when they were children. To apply for DACA, immigrants had to be younger than 31 on June 15, 2012, must have come to the United States when they were younger than 16 and must have lived here since 2007. Look it up.

Any person who entered the United States after 2007 is not eligible for DACA. So the “welcome mat” must have been picked up and removed in early 2008. The cartoon is not only erroneous, it is grossly misleading. Perhaps even xenophobic.