Will Congress clean up the mess President Trump just made? #DACA
People are now waking up to the not all that surprising decision by President Trump to end the Obama era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. While it might have been a difficult decision for Trump, everything indicated that he was going to end the program. It's an Obama era program. The policy provided protection to undocumented immigrants. Those who benefited mostly came from Mexico and Latin America. It kept families of mixed status indivuals together. It kept young people in school or employed. What was for him to like?
In effect since 2012, DACA has shielded approximately 800,000 undocumented migrants who had been brought to the US as minors from deportation. They have status that allows them to attend school and work as long as they maintain clean criminal records and pay several hundred dollars every two years to renew their permits. From the best available data, the average DACA recipient arrived in the US at six-and-a-half years old. Today, that average recipient is 26 years old.
DACA recipients put a lot of faith in the US government. They submitted personal information that would, in turn, make them more vulnerable to deportation should the protections ever be rescinded.
Among other things, congressional failure resulted in DACA. Congress has failed to find a compromise on young immigrants, individually or as part of comprehensive immigration reform, since 2001. We have to be hopeful that Congress will do the right thing this time. DACA is generally a popular and effective policy.
In the meantime, however, the emotional toll on DACA recipients and their families is real. Even if Congress is spurred to action and successfully passes legislation addressing DACA recipients, the best case scenario ending the existing program, this move to remove protections from some of our country's most vulnerable young people once again reflects a lack of compassion on the part of President Trump.
In effect since 2012, DACA has shielded approximately 800,000 undocumented migrants who had been brought to the US as minors from deportation. They have status that allows them to attend school and work as long as they maintain clean criminal records and pay several hundred dollars every two years to renew their permits. From the best available data, the average DACA recipient arrived in the US at six-and-a-half years old. Today, that average recipient is 26 years old.
DACA recipients put a lot of faith in the US government. They submitted personal information that would, in turn, make them more vulnerable to deportation should the protections ever be rescinded.
Among other things, congressional failure resulted in DACA. Congress has failed to find a compromise on young immigrants, individually or as part of comprehensive immigration reform, since 2001. We have to be hopeful that Congress will do the right thing this time. DACA is generally a popular and effective policy.
In the meantime, however, the emotional toll on DACA recipients and their families is real. Even if Congress is spurred to action and successfully passes legislation addressing DACA recipients, the best case scenario ending the existing program, this move to remove protections from some of our country's most vulnerable young people once again reflects a lack of compassion on the part of President Trump.
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