Photo Courtesy of ABC News
in

DREAMers put on hold

President Trump issued the removal of Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals, otherwise known as DACA, on September 5.

DACA is a program that was enacted five years ago under the Obama administration to protect the rights of individuals who entered the US illegally as minors. As of March 31, 2017, DACA protects about 800,000 young immigrants from deportation.

The Trump administration is giving Congress six months to pass legislation to preserve provisions before the program is terminated.

Several states disagree with Trump’s request to end the program. On Monday, Sept. 11, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra took action by suing the Trump administration. California challenged the removal of DACA as unconstitutional. 15 other states, led by New York and Washington, filed a similar legal claim.

Although Trump called for the removal of DACA, he went to Twitter to defend the DREAMers, people protected by DACA. This is contradictory because he initially wanted to get rid of the policy and now he is defending it.

“Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really! They have been in our country for many years through no fault of their own — brought in by parents at young age. Plus BIG border security,” Trump said over twitter.

Protesters in front of the White House |Photo Courtesy of Nashville Public Radio

Trump offered a potential deal to extend DACA until March 5, 2018. As of Thursday morning, the offer involves enhanced border security with legislation to protect the young immigrants from deportation.

Enhanced border security is also on the table for discussion. Democrats continually refuse to agree on funding for a wall extending the period of negotiation.

In regards to the deal, four bills have already been proposed. The Bridge Act, proposed by the Republicans, offers a three-year protection to individuals eligible for DACA. Democrats request to renew the Dream Act that allows DACA recipients and eligible young people potential permanent residency and citizenship if they work and study in the US. These are the two most likely to be agreed upon by Congress.

As for now, those under DACA cannot leave the country or re-enter. The threat of removal severely affects them and clear action is unlikely to happen soon.

Written by Jana Ariss

Jana is a Senior at MC and the Co-Editor in Chief of The MC Sun.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *