Leaving DACA to Congress: The Next Step for Dreamers
My heart absolutely breaks for these undocumented young people living in peril through no fault of their own (“Sweet dreams get put on hold,” Sept. 6).
We live in a country with laws, rules and regulations. Congress has to come up with a solution. Henny Rattner Lawrence
Some 800,000 Americans trusted our government when they registered under the DACA program. They believed that by following the rules, the country they came to as children and viewed as their home would accept them.
Now, President Trump has terminated the program and threatens to begin deportations within six months.
The Dreamers who trusted the United States are now at risk. All their personal information is on file, available to ICE whenever it decides to come after these people, who are our neighbors, colleagues, friends and employees.
No longer can we trust our government to do what it promises; anything can change when a self-serving, deceptive huckster or ideologue rises to power. Bruce Joffe Piedmont, Calif.
To say that the 800,000 immigrants in the DACA program are undocumented is misleading.
Dreamers are fluent in English; over 95 percent are employed or go to school.
Clearly, since the federal government knows who they are, where they live and what they do for a living, they’re documented. Why not extend their welcome?
In August, Trump was joined by a number of congressmen in propos- ing the Raise Act, which would require all new immigrants to be fluent in English, able to support themselves and their families and demonstrate skills that contribute to our economy.
The immigrants in DACA clearly meet the criteria of the Raise Act and deserve our respect. Makes one wonder why the president is so set against DACA. Irving Gelb North Bergen, NJ
The liberal-biased media only champions illegal immigrants.
We never hear about immigrants who came here legally, nor do we ever hear about the countless visa applicants in other countries who are going through the proper channels to come to the United States.
These people, who patiently wait their turns, are the real heroes, not the families of the DACA kids. Loan Nguyen Hartford, Conn.
I am sympathetic to the plight of the beneficiaries of DACA and hope an equitable solution is quickly forged by Congress.
But I find it absurd that people who, by every measure, reside illegally in the United States have the audacity to protest a legal decision by our government.
As unfortunate as it may be for DACA beneficiaries, we are a country of laws. While this is a horrendous situation that must be corrected, the blame rests entirely with President Barack Obama.
When Congress elected not to pass a Dream Act, it was outrageously presumptuous for Obama to enact DACA by executive order.
His action was indisputably unconstitutional. Robert Dinerstein Commack
DACA was never constitutional.
After Obama stated that he was “not a king” and did not have the authority to pass it, he signed the executive order anyway.
It’s time for Congress to step up and make it a law. D. Snyder Baiting Hollow
Trump shouldn’t have touched DACA with a 10foot pole.
For him to send these children back after they’ve been living here and playing by the rules is a punch in the gut.
Hopefully, Congress can fix this dilemma. Ron Zajicek Cortlandt Manor
Trump swore to uphold the Constitution, so he had to end DACA. That is what US immigration law requires.
No one is above the law. Illegal immigrants must get in line behind everyone else who is patiently waiting to become a legal citizen. Mike Brown Burlingame, Calif.