Perchance To DREAM: A Legal and Political History of the DREAM Act and DACA

Legal scholar and advocate Olivas (chair, Univ. of Houston Law Ctr.) offers a thorough and timely examination of the interwoven legal and political ramifications of court decisions and legislation related to the generation of undocumented immigrant children and youth who were the focus of state and federal Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Acts and eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. The book begins with a brief overview of legal and political debates about immigration status and access to higher education prior to the 2000s. It then examines the period between 2000 and 2016 when state and federal DREAM Acts were passed and litigated, and DACA status was granted during the Obama Administration. Olivas ends by covering the 2016 U.S. presidential election, with a brief conclusion reflecting soberly on immigration politics in the Trump era. Roughly half the volume is made up of multiple appendixes, endnotes, and an extensive bibliography that add value for those wishing to explore the topic further.