A year ago, President Obama announced the DACA program from the steps of the White House Rose Garden. Since that day, over half a million young immigrants have come forward under DACA to seek relief from deportation and to secure work authorization.  It is estimated that a total of 1.8 million young people are eligible for DACA. According to the most recent statistics, USCIS has received 539,128 applications since August 15, 2012. Of those, 365,237 have been approved. This means hundreds of thousands of young aspiring citizens can continue their education, work legally and be more active members of society. There’s a flipside to the statistics: there are about 400,000 who immediately qualify but haven’t applied and nearly half a million more that need to enroll in an adult education program in order to become DACA-eligible. On top of that, there is yet another 400,000 who currently are too young to apply. DACA is not without its detractors.  A lawsuit currently pending in Texas argues that the Obama administration does not have the authority to grant deferred action to DREAMers; the judge in that case has issued a preliminary ruling in which he said he was likely to declare the DACA program illegal. The case is far from over, however, and experts are confident that DACA’s lawfulness is beyond dispute. Despite these challenges, the DACA program moves into its second year with strong support from the American public.  After only a year, it is clear that DACA is worth the effort and political pressure it took to create opportunities for young, unauthorized immigrants.