Q&A WITH VANCE WINNINGHAM
Decision on ‘dreamers’ still up in the air
Q: What is the current status of the DACA Program?
A: The fate of the some 800,000 young adults brought to the United States illegally as children who qualify for the program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), is still very much in doubt. Legislation to protect these “dreamers” has repeatedly died in Congress. President Donald Trump on Sept. 5 ordered an end to the Obamaera program that shielded young undocumented immigrants from deportation. The DACA program is to be phased out over a six-month period.
Q: What does the president want done with these dreamers?
A: The president specifically has called on Congress to “legalize DACA,” by passing a replacement before he phases out its protections in six months. The president has labeled DACA recipients as “incredible kids” and said, “I have a love for these people, and hopefully now Congress will be able to help them and do it properly.” He recently said he would sign anything upon which Congress could agree and pass.
Q: What has Congress done?
A: There are several DACA-related bills pending in Congress but none have sufficient bipartisan support to date. Last week U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, submitted their bipartisan proposal to the president and several members of Congress. This compromise proposal basically would create a 10-year path to citizenship for DACA recipients and those eligible to apply for DACA; authorize $2.8 billion for border security and $1.6 billion for a border wall; require green card holders become citizens before they can sponsor their adult children for immigration benefits; and reduce the current visa lottery program by 50 percent.
Q: What has been the initial response to this bipartisan proposal?
A: It has been mixed and the ultimate outcome is still very much up in the air.
Q: What recently occurred in judicial proceedings involving DACA?
A: On Jan. 9, a federal-district court in California issued a provisional order directing the Department of Homeland Security to partially maintain the DACA program on a nationwide basis on the same terms and conditions as were in effect before the rescission of DACA, including allowing DACA enrollees to renew their enrollments, with the following exceptions: that new applications from applicants who have never before received deferred action need not be processed; that the advance parole feature need not be continued for the time being for anyone; and that DHS may take administrative steps to make sure fair discretion is exercised on an individualized basis for each renewal application. The court stated its decision doesn’t prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from taking enforcement action against anyone, including those with DACA, who it determines may pose a risk to national security or public safety or who — in the judgment of the agency — “deserves ... to be removed.” The agency is in the process of appealing this court’s decision, but has started complying with the court’s order by accepting DACA renewal applications.