USA TODAY International Edition
End of DACA alters 800,000 futures
Trump’s decision touches all aspects of immigrants’ lives
The Trump administration’s phaseout of a program that spares young undocumented immigrants from deportation puts nearly 800,000 DREAMers on edge and their future on the clock.
An unwinding of DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, announced Tuesday by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, allows some to keep their deportation protections for up to two more years. Without congressional action to give them permanent protection, those enrolled in the program must begin making decisions now about their jobs, schooling, military careers and future country of residence.
Those affected were brought illegally to the USA as children. At an average age of 25, many know no other country.
Ignacia Rodriguez of the National Immigration Law Center in Los Angeles, which advocates for immigrants, said it’s difficult for Americans to understand how drastic the move is.
“They have to look at every aspect of their lives and figure out, ‘How does not having DACA affect this?’ ” Rodriguez said. “It’s quite scary and overwhelming.”
JOBS
A survey conducted by a University of California professor found that 91% of DACA enrollees are employed.
What happens once they lose their DACA status and work permit? Ian Macdonald, an immigration attorney with Greenberg Traurig, said even the most sympathetic business owners will have to lay them off if their permits expire.
“We’re going to be forcing a lot of these individuals back into the shadows and working illegally,” Macdonald said.
Critics of the DACA program said the opening of nearly 800,000 jobs will be a boon for native-born workers. Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, said Trump delivered a “wonderful Labor Day present” to unemployed Americans.
WASHINGTON President Trump began winding down an Obamaera immigration program designed to protect undocumented immigrants who were brought into the USA as children, but he invited Congress on Tuesday to preserve it through legislation within six months.
“I do not favor punishing children, most of whom are now adults, for the actions of their parents,” Trump said Tuesday in a written statement. Still, “we must also recognize that we are a nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws.”
Trump insisted Congress should be responsible for immigration policy.
“The legislative branch, not the executive branch, writes these laws,” he said.
Trump said later that he has “a great heart” for those involved in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. “Hopefully, now Congress will be able to help them and do it properly,” he said.
The Department of Homeland Security won’t accept applications to the DACA program — but current recipients would not be affected until March 5 of next year. This gives Congress time to find a legislative solution to replace the program, which shields about 800,000 young immigrants from deportation.
Many lawmakers questioned whether Congress — bogged down on health care and tax policy, among other issues — would be able to pass a hot-button immigration bill before March. The courts are likely to be involved in resolving the dispute over DACA.
Announcing that the United States would rescind the 2012 order that created the DACA program, Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the protections provided by President Obama an “unconstitutional exercise of authority by the executive branch.”
Providing “amnesty” for young undocumented immigrants, Sessions said, meant they took jobs from Americans. It contributed to a surge of unaccompanied minors on the southern border that yielded terrible humanitarian consequences, he said.
“To have a lawful system of immigration that serves the national interest, we cannot admit everyone who would like to come here,” Sessions said. “It’s just that simple.”
In a Facebook posting criticizing Trump’s decision, Obama described the policy’s reversal as wrong, self-defeating and “cruel.”
“Ultimately, this is about basic decency,” he wrote. “This is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated.”
Obama said Congress couldn’t agree on an immigration plan during his presidency, so he acted “because it made no sense to expel talented, driven, patriotic young people from the only country they know solely because of the actions of their parents.”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Tuesday the announcement came because of deadlines from a group of Republican attorneys general from 10 states, who threatened to file a lawsuit against the DACA program if Trump didn’t end it.
Rather than risk a judicial decision suddenly ending DACA, Sanders said, Trump authorized an “orderly wind-down” and placed the responsibility for immigration back where it belongs: Congress.
“We have confidence that Congress is going to step up and do its job,” she said.
Attorneys for undocumented immigrants involved in the program threatened lawsuits if DACA ends — and the state attorneys general of New York and Washington vowed to challenge the administration’s action in court.
“DREAMers are Americans in every way,” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Tuesday, adding that more than 40,000 New Yorkers are shielded under DACA protections. “They played by the rules; they pay their taxes; and they’ve earned the right to stay in the only home they have ever known.”
Schneiderman, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and other attorneys general were likely to join forces to mount a legal challenge.
“We have been working closely with legal teams around the country, and we expect to be joined by other states in this action,” Ferguson said in a statement Monday night. “I will use all the legal tools at my disposal to defend the thousands of DREAMers in Washington state.”
The American Civil Liberties Union, which pledged to defend DACA in court, accused Trump of “manufacturing a crisis.”
“Today is a cruel day for dreamers, our families and all Americans,” said Lorella Praeli, the ACLU’s director of immigration policy and campaigns. “There is no humane way to end DACA before having a permanent legislative fix in place. President Trump just threw the lives and futures of 800,000 DREAMers and their families, including my own, into fearful disarray.”
According to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security, immigrants with DACA permits that expire before March 5 can apply for a two-year renewal, but they must do so before Oct. 5.
Homeland Security reported that 201,678 enrollees are set to see their protections expire this year; 275,344 are set for expiration during 2018.
Even if Congress does not take action by next March, there is no guarantee that DACA members will be deported — the priority will continue to be on undocumented migrants who have committed crimes.
In his statement, Trump said, “I have advised the Department of Homeland Security that DACA recipients are not enforcement priorities unless they are criminals, are involved in criminal activity, or are members of a gang.”
Trump’s announcement drew scorn from Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans who accused him of seeking to get rid of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who contribute to the U.S. economy.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., called Trump’s decision “a heartless and grave mistake. We should never be a country that kicks out some of our best and brightest students.”
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called rescinding DACA “the wrong approach to immigration policy at a time when both sides of the aisle need to come together to reform our broken immigration system.” McCain said children “who were illegally brought into this country through no fault of their own should not be forced to return to a country they do not know.”
Though some Republicans cautioned against tasking Congress with a major immigration push considering its crowded legislative agenda, congressional leaders said they would take action.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, RWis., who described DACA as well-intentioned but an abuse of executive authority, said Congress needs to address “a permanent legislative solution that includes ensuring that those who have done nothing wrong can still contribute as a valued part of this great country.”
American business leaders objected to Trump’s immigration moves.
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, tweeted that “250 of my Apple coworkers are #Dreamers. I stand with them. They deserve our respect as equals and a solution rooted in American values.”
Organizations that say loose immigration policies have undercut the wages of working Americans applauded Trump’s move.
Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, an organization that seeks to reduce immigration to the USA, said Congress needs “to focus on strong immigration enforcement measures and reforms to our legal immigration system that put American workers first.”
Children “who were illegally brought into this country through no fault of their own should not be forced to return to a country they do not know.” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.