Trump should let DACA be
With health care legislation in the ditch and another Twitter controversy igniting a strong backlash, President Donald Trump’s promise to overturn the Obama administration’s effort to protect younger undocumented immigrants has fallen by the wayside. Yet 10 state attorneys general and one governor won’t leave it alone, pressuring the president to stop granting or renewing the protections. There are plenty of other issues for the president to focus on, and the White House should leave alone the program that benefits thousands of so-called Dreamers who live and work in our communities.
The 11 state officials urged the Trump administration in a letter last month to stop granting or renewing permits under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program by Sept. 5 or they would continue pursuing their lawsuit to overturn the executive order signed by former President Barack Obama. DACA protects nearly 788,000 undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children by protecting them from deportation and allowing them to work. More than 32,000 people in Florida have been authorized to stay under DACA, many of whom see the United States as their home country. There is no compelling policy or security reason for this group of Republicans to force these people back to countries they left as kids.
Notably missing from this group challenging DACA is Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who rarely misses an opportunity to jump on a national issue even when it would be at odds with Florida’s best interests. (Editor’s note: Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt also was not among the officials who signed the letter.)
Bondi was one of 26 attorneys general to fight an Obama executive order that protected parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents and that Trump overturned. Previously, Bondi has signed legal briefs related to opposing gun restrictions in Connecticut and New York, supporting the Keystone XL pipeline and defending Trump’s travel ban. Perhaps she has finally drawn a line on wading into fights that would hurt Florida — or she simply does not want to prod a president she supports — and she should stay out of it.
Trump’s tone has changed considerably on DACA since taking office. On the campaign trail, he pledged to immediately end the program, calling it “illegal amnesty.” But it has survived more than 160 days and counting while the Department of Homeland Security continues its review. As president, Trump has called DACA a “very, very difficult subject” for him that he would act on with heart and compassion. In the meantime, the long-term future of roughly 750,000 people remains in limbo as they attempt to interpret these mixed signals. Dreamers deserve a clear answer that they will not be targeted by the Trump administration.
DACA has benefited so many undocumented immigrants who have grown up in our neighborhoods, attended our schools and worked in our communities and consider this home. This pressure from various attorneys general to unwisely end the program with no replacement in sight is tone deaf. If Trump truly wants to act with compassion, he should quietly keep these protections in place.