As chances for DACA deal fade, supporters mount big push

WASHINGTON — With prospects dimming for a deal this year to prevent young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation, sympathetic groups are planning to push hard over the next few weeks to force the issue back to the top of Washington’s agenda.

Activists see their December bid as their last, best shot to save about 800,000 young immigrants protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program from being deported.

They face a tough challenge, with the White House distracted by tax legislation and Congress reluctant to act quickly to save the program.

Calling it illegal, the administration announced in September that DACA would be terminated after six months to give Congress time to pass a legislative fix that might allow the young immigrants here illegally to stay in the only country many of them have ever known.

The new initiatives to save DACA start this week, when caravans of the young immigrants start arriving in Washington. Activists are planning rallies in front of the White House, sit-ins on Capitol Hill and, possibly, other acts of civil disobedience.

“People are throwing everything at the wall because they see this as the moment,” said Jeremy Robbins, executive director of the Partnership for a New American Economy, which is working with Republicans and Democrats who support protecting DACA beneficiaries.

The efforts face significant barriers.

The White House is focused on changing the tax code and signaled last week that its immigration priorities do not include DACA until after the U.S.-Mexican border is secure.

“The president has made clear any immigration reform must first deliver for American citizens and workers. His priorities are securing the border with a wall, closing legal loopholes that enable illegal entry, interior enforcement and combating visa overstays, and ending chain migration,” said deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley.

While some DACA beneficiaries were allowed one more extension, those whose protection expires after March 5 will lose their work permits and could be deported.

After an initial uproar, momentum has slowed since Trump backed away from a tentative deal with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California in September.

Pelosi has since threatened that Democrats could withhold support from must-pass spending bills. At a Nov. 9 news briefing, the San Francisco Democrat promised that “we will not leave here without the DREAM Act passing with a DACA fix.” Congress has until Dec. 8 to pass legislation to fund the government.