Last year, on the 13th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an unconstitutional program he had conjured into existence by executive fiat, Barack Obama was singing its praises.
"DACA was an example of how we can be a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws," Obama said. "And it's an example worth remembering today, when families with similar backgrounds who just want to live, work, and support their communities, are being demonized and treated as enemies."
And it’s all a lie.
Since President Donald Trump returned to office, his administration has arrested nearly 300 DACA recipients nationwide — 75 of them in Texas alone, who were previously protected from deportation.
And here's the number the left doesn't want to talk about: of 270 DACA recipients arrested between Jan. 1, 2025, and Sept. 28, 2025, 250 — that's 92% — had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges.
Nine out of ten.
The breakdown is telling. Of those 270 arrests, 130 had criminal convictions, 120 had pending charges, and 14 were cited for immigration violations. Within the same window, 174 DACA recipients were removed from the country. According to the Department of Homeland Security, “Of those removed, 71 were convicted criminals, 66 had pending criminal charges, and 66 were in violation of immigration law. None of these applicants had been granted protected status at the time of their removal.”
250 out of 270 (92%) of the DACA recipients had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. https://t.co/6X46Iz9Un5 pic.twitter.com/XJ6X641eSA
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 23, 2026
DACA defenders insisted that the program’s beneficiaries were innocent, law-abiding, upstanding members of their communities. The best and brightest, vetted and re-vetted, posed zero threat to the communities they lived in. Democrats have pushed that line for years, insisting with practiced outrage that no, the administration isn't shielding criminals — that just doesn't happen.
The federal data proves otherwise.
None of this is to say every DACA recipient is dangerous. There are over 505,000 currently active recipients in the country, more than 84,000 in Texas alone. But when 92% of the nearly 300 who wound up being targets for deportation had criminal histories, that’s a troubling statistic that undermines the very argument used to justify the DACA program, not to mention the desire to give these people a pathway toward full legal citizenship.
Recommended: Greg Gutfeld Savages the SPLC and the Democrats Who Took the Bait
Of course, the media doesn’t want this detail to get out there. The Texas Tribune, which first reported on DACA recipients who were “targeted” for deportation, curiously left out the criminal records of the DACA recipients from its report:
Since President Trump returned to office, his administration has begun to target DACA recipients for deportation as part of its mass deportation efforts. From January 2025 to November 2025, at least 261 DACA recipients have been arrested — 75 of them in Texas. And between 86 and 174 DACA recipients have been deported, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (The agency gave different figures to two different Democratic members of Congress who requested the information).
“DACA does NOT confer any form of legal status in this country,” DHS has said on this issue. “Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons, including if they’ve committed a crime.”
In other words, DACA recipients who commit crimes are deportable under existing law, just like any other illegal alien. The program never granted immunity.
In the end, the Trump administration is doing something radical by Washington standards: enforcing the law as written. And the left can’t take it.
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
Help us continue to expose their left-wing bias by reading news you can trust. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member