Many problems if Congress misses its DACA deadline

WASHINGTON — Every day that Congress delays finding a fix for the expiring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, more than 120 young people living under its protection lose the permits that allow them to legally work and stay in the country.

Despite months of calls from members of both parties to reach a deal before the end of the year, lawmakers are likely to head home this week without a solution for the 800,000 people who were brought here illegally by their parents at a young age.

The DACA program provides legal protection for them to stay and work in the United States after they turn 18.

California has the largest population of DACA recipients, about 220,000. Next is Texas, with 120,000 beneficiaries.

President Donald Trump plans to end the DACA program in March, and asked Congress to come up with a solution before then. Lawmakers plan to take up the issue when they return in January.

But in blowing through Congress’ self-imposed Dec. 31 deadline, both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill face potential backlash because of the practical problems that arise.

Immigration experts say the ballooning number of people whose permits are expiring will likely take months to process, regardless of what solution Congress comes up with. When DACA was first created, it took the Department of Homeland Security nearly three months to approve the first applications.

Nearly 1,300 DACA recipients’ permits, which can last two years, have already expired since Trump announced plans to end the program, despite the six-month window that would have allowed them to renew before the March deadline.

Members of both political parties largely agree that Congress should do something to protect DACA recipients from deportation, and they’ve been furiously negotiating behind closed doors.

But a lack of clear guidelines from the White House and intraparty disagreements on both sides of the aisle have left lawmakers from both parties shouldering blame for the inaction.