Jin Park is the first “Dreamer” from the United States to win a Rhodes scholarship. By being chosen, Park will receive financing to attend the University of Oxford in England. But he risks not being permitted back in the U.S. if he studies there. “Dreamers” are young adults who were brought to the country illegally as children. When Barack Obama was president, his administration set up a program that permitted them to stay. It is called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, for short. In December, Park completed his studies at Harvard University in Massachusetts. But the excitement of winning the Rhodes scholarship has been replaced with feelings of uneasiness. President Donald Trump’s administration ended the ability of Dreamers to travel overseas when it began to discontinue the DACA program in 2017. During the Obama administration, Dreamers were permitted limited overseas travel, including studying in other countries. Park and his supporters argue that such travel should still be permitted since federal courts have defended DACA for now.
