Monday, March 5, President Donald Trump plans to repeal the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) unless new legislation is passed.
DACA refers to a protection policy that affects people who came to the United States as children but have no lawful immigration status. This bill was introduced June 5, 2012, and it allowed the “DREAMers” to apply for protection if they met a set of guidelines. These include graduating from at least high school or being in school currently, having committed no felonies or significant misdemeanors and posing no threat to public safety or national security.
Approximately 800,000 young unauthorized immigrants have received permits for lawful U.S. citizen status as well as protection from deportation under DACA. As of Sept. 4, 2017, about 690,000 were enrolled in the program. A majority of DREAMers are from Mexico, and 67 percent are 25 years of age or younger.
According to an NPR poll, two-thirds of Americans support legal status for DREAMers, and a majority are against Trump’s planned border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
DACA protection expires March 5. Sept. 5, 2017, the Trump administration announced that they would rescind the program then. However, a federal judge ordered Trump to resume DACA renewals Jan. 9, and Trump suggested a willingness to help the approximate 11 million illegal immigrants with a major immigration reform.
However, plans took a turn for the worse Jan. 20, resulting in a federal government shutdown, the first one since 2013. This lasted until Jan. 22, when Senators voted to end the shutdown.
Then, Feb. 5, Sens. John McCain and Christopher Coons introduced a bipartisan plan that would grant legal status to DREAMers while bolstering security along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump criticized the bill because it does not allow funds for his wall. Trump threatened another government shutdown in a meeting with lawmakers Feb. 6 if Congress does not crack down on illegal immigration.
Friday, Feb. 9, Trump signed a new budget plan into law, tweeting that, “fortunately, DACA [is] not included in this bill.” Another hours-long government shutdown caused by Republican Sen. Rand Paul happened during the Senate debate over the budget plan. However, House Speaker Paul Ryan pledged to take up an immigration proposal this week since the budget plan passed.
Expert Corner by Dr. David Kenley
Dr. David Kenley, director of the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking at Elizabethtown, stated that tens of thousands of young adults would be subjected to deportation into countries, languages and cultures they do not know, along with giving up employment and education if DACA is repealed.
“There are not many people who want to see DREAMers go – they are being used as a bargaining chip,” Kenley said. He does not believe that the McCain-Coons bill will move off of the Senate floor, especially since Trump is opposed to it.
“To bring it closer to home, students get a more robust education when exposed to a diversity of viewpoints and opinions. We should welcome intellectual and cultural diversity,” Kenley said.
