Peer Support and Digital Mutual Aid Among DACA Recipients on Reddit Across Presidential Administrations

• In Event: From Reddit to the Ballot Box: Immigrant Integration, Public Opinion, and Political Reactions

Abstract

Unauthorized youth, particularly recipients of DACA, occupy a position of 'liminal legality,' experiencing ongoing legal uncertainty and emotional precarity that can limit access to formal support systems. Emerging research highlights how online communities serve as alternative spaces for mutual aid and psychosocial resilience; however, few studies have examined how peer support is structured, exchanged, and adapted across shifting political contexts, particularly among individuals with immigrant backgrounds. This study investigates how the Reddit community r/DACA has served as a digital support hub for unauthorized immigrants from 2016 through 2024.

We collected 27,094 Reddit posts from 12,287 users and 443,747 comments from 34,929 users from r/DACA between 2016 and 2024 using the Reddit Pushshift API. The data were segmented by U.S. presidential election to reflect key periods of policy uncertainty. Using transformer-based natural language processing methods, we applied BERT-based emotion classification, support-type detection (emotional, informational, or companionship) based on large language models, and BERTopic for thematic clustering. Peer support exchanges were categorized into five types: seeking informational support (SIS), providing informational support (PIS), providing emotional support (PES), seeking emotional support (SES), and companionship (COM). Statistical analyses (ANOVA and chi-square tests) were used to assess variations across administrations.

Emotional and informational support coexisted throughout the study period; however, emotional reassurance and companionship notably increased during presidential election cycles, particularly in 2024. The support-type classification of over 327,000 comments revealed that informational support was the most common overall. A marked increase in informational support needs was observed immediately following each primary start date (e.g., February 2016, February 2020, and January 2024), suggesting that users actively sought clarity on policy implications and legal processes during early campaign phases. Emotional support-seeking also increased significantly during these periods. Topic modeling revealed recurring themes such as legal anxiety, DACA renewal logistics, employment disruptions, and adjustment through marriage. The most common community-labeled topics included general questions (n = 9,231), application timelines (n = 3,363), and advance parole concerns (n = 2,673). Emotion analysis revealed elevated levels of confusion, fear, and gratitude, with fear reaching its peak during the elections surrounding the Trump administration. A chi-square test confirmed significant variation in support-type distributions across political administrations (χ² = 789.66, df = 12, p < .0001).

This study demonstrates how digital platforms like r/DACA operate as infrastructures of peer support and mutual aid for unauthorized immigrants navigating liminal legality— legal and emotional precarity. Across shifting administrations, the subreddit evolved in both tone and function, transitioning from procedural guidance to emotional reassurance and solidarity during times of threat. By combining NLP methods, our analysis provides a scalable yet contextually grounded model for examining online peer support practices among marginalized populations. Implications include the need for ethical engagement with digital mutual aid spaces, integration of online support dynamics, and consideration of how community-driven digital infrastructures can be supported or leveraged in times of institutional failure. 

Authors

• Nari Yoo, University of Michigan Ann Arbor
  Presenting Author

• Jihye Lee, Washington University in St. Louis
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Ashley Elizabeth Cureton, University of Michigan Ann Arbor
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Cheng Chow, The University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Co-Author