Nearly 80,000 of the immigrants released into the United States under former President Barrack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program had arrests on their criminal records. 

This is according to a new report from the New York Post. 

For those unfamiliar with DACA, the U.S. government explains:

On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for a period of 2 years, subject to renewal. They are also eligible to request work authorization. Deferred action is an exercise of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action against an individual for a certain period of time. Deferred action does not provide lawful status.

As we will see, the Democrats want to change this last part.

80,000 with prior arrests

According to the Post, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released a report showing that many DACA recipients had prior arrests.

"Within five years of a new program created to prevent deportation of minors brought into the country illegally by their parents, nearly 80,000 were released into the U.S. with arrest records," the outlet reports.

It adds, "The majority were between the ages of 19 and 22 when they were arrested, according to the latest available data published by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)."

The five-year period referred to by the Post is June 2012 to October 2019.

The Post goes on to report that many of the arrests were indeed for violent crimes. Per the outlet:

[M]ore than 25,300 [were] arrested for driving-related crimes excluding driving under the influence (DUI). Nearly 13,000 were arrested for immigration-related civil and criminal offenses; nearly 8,000 for theft, larceny; nearly 7,000 for drug-related crimes; more than 4,200 for DUI; more than 3,400 for battery; more than 3,300 for assault; more than 3,000 for obstruction, fabrication, false claim.

Obama celebrates, seeks a "permanent" solution for "dreamers"

DACA is Obama's "baby," and he recently celebrated its 12-year anniversary.

On his X account, he wrote:

Today, most of the original Dreamers are grown. They’re serving their communities as teachers, doctors, lawyers, and having children of their own. But because the program that offered that protection remains temporary, they’re also living in fear of being sent back to a country many of them can’t even remember.

The former president went on to ask Congress for "a permanent legislative solution for Dreamers — one that offers them a pathway to citizenship and makes our immigration system fairer, more efficient, and more just."

It remains to be seen whether this will happen. Many states are still fighting to have DACA ended.

The Biden administration, however, did recently announce an order to expand deportation protections and job opportunities for DACA recipients.