New Book Sheds Light on DACA Recipients’ ‘Everyday Activism’

Thirteen years ago, former President Barack Obama announced the executive action that established the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has allowed hundreds of thousands of young adults who are undocumented immigrants to be protected from deportation and work legally in the United States. Overall, the program has benefitted about 825,000 undocumented young adults. Today, DACA continues to face uncertainty as President Donald Trump and his administration have focused on rolling back and challenging immigration programs and policies, and have increased and accelerated deportation efforts across the United States.

Although DACA survived President Trump’s initial attempts to terminate the program during his first term in 2017, DACA recipients—and their families, friends, employers and community members—have faced a rollercoaster of legal battles and social scrutiny over the years.

While activists and social movements make headlines that shape public perception, a member of the Department of Anthropology faculty is taking a closer look at the everyday lives, priorities and actions of DACA recipients, offering unique insight into their continuing American journey.

“Everyday Activists” (NYU Press, 2025) by Associate Professor Christina Getrich shares previously untold stories and perspectives of DACA recipients who are not necessarily activists who participate in organized marches or protests, but who nonetheless have a profoundly positive impact on immigrant communities in the United States. These DACA recipients engage in civic participation, relationship-building, and service in their communities and through their work.

“When people think about DACA recipients, the images that usually come to mind are of young Latine people participating in public protests—after all, DACA recipients and their supporters have built a remarkable social movement over the last two decades,” Getrich said. “But what I found when I started doing research with DACA recipients in the D.C. Metro region is that there are so many more stories and experiences than what we typically hear about. Because DACA started 13 years ago, those who received it early on are at this point in their twenties and thirties,  living their adult lives.”

The book draws from five years of rich ethnographic research with a diverse population of 30 DACA recipients living in the Washington, D.C., area. The research was conducted between 2016 and 2021, a period covering three different presidential administrations.

The book recounts the experiences of these DACA recipients, who contribute to their neighborhoods, who have careers, who have families and mortgages, and who pay taxes. “These are very typical things that many adults in this country would do,” Getrich said. “But what’s different for DACA recipients is the fragility of it all. Every two years, they have to renew their status. So there’s always the uncertainty that it won’t be renewed or the program will be terminated, leaving their futures uncertain. They carry that extra anxiety and stress.”

Getrich also notes that there is a potential public opinion pitfall surrounding DACA recipients: the perception that they are “the best and the brightest,” or “exceptional immigrants” can be a heavy burden. It can also cast unfair, unfounded perceptions about “other” immigrants not being as deserving, or not making as many contributions.

During a time of political uncertainty and a presidential administration prioritizing deportation and increased U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement  activity—while rolling back immigrant resources, protections and pathways—pro-immigrant rights activism and rallies are picking up momentum nationwide.

Getrich’s work goes beyond these headlines and broad views, and helps the reader understand DACA recipients at a more personal level.

“As one example of what community activism can look like, a young woman on our campus saw a flyer for an event that was essentially based on ‘fake news’; it was a cartoonish set of images about illegal aliens stealing votes. She saw it all over the library. It was deeply upsetting to her. And so she spoke up. She asked for the flyers to be removed, and she contacted the event organizer. She didn’t want anyone else to have to see that negative portrayal of immigrants, so she spoke up,” Getrich said.

Getrich also said that DACA recipients are speaking up in their workplaces, their places of worship, and are having open conversations with people about their experiences and about immigrant rights. They are also serving as everyday activists when they share knowledge with one another, on how to access resources and navigate service landscapes.

“I think we can learn a lot from the ‘everyday’ work of DACA recipients and their organic, connective strategies,” Getrich said. “I hope readers come away with creative ideas about how to show up in our everyday lives for immigrants and others who are systematically subjected to social exclusion.”

Getrich noted that public opinion polls typically demonstrate that there is consistently broad support for keeping DACA recipients in the country, and for providing them with a pathway to citizenship.

“A lot of people understand that DACA recipients and other immigrants are working in service fields like health care, education, and emergency services,” Getrich said. “They fill important labor gaps, but even more importantly, make such valuable contributions to these sectors through their specialized knowledge, skills, and experiences navigating resources.”

And yet, Getrich noted, Congress still hasn’t taken action to provide them a pathway to citizenship. Greater understanding of the roles DACA recipients are already playing in their adult lives , and continued public support, might help change that.

“DACA recipients are a group of immigrants that help us find common ground on the immigration debate, in some ways,” Getrich said. “There’s strong public support for DACA recipients, which can open the door to broader conversations about people who are being surveilled, arrested, and deported, and how that impacts all of our communities.”

The book’s publication has been professionally and personally meaningful for Getrich. She joined with former students who worked with her on the project over its five years at a special panel event in early April to celebrate the book launch, which was hosted by the Center for Migration Studies.

“These former students now have professional careers and adult lives of their own. They were very involved throughout the project and stayed on with this research really as a passion project,” Getrich said. “It means a lot to me that they gave so much time, energy, and commitment to this project, even after they graduated.”

Main photo of collaborators and event panelists, with the book's author. From left to right: Perla Guerrero, Alaska Burdette, Delmis Umanzor, Getrich, and Ana Ortez-Rivera. 
 

Published on Mon, Jun 23, 2025 - 2:17PM