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Judge Blocks Trump's Attempt to End DACA Program
In our August 15th post included below, we provided a primer that explained what DACA is and why it exists after President Obama's 2010 DREAM legislation was filibustered by Republicans in Senate to prevent a vote. We said that by September 5th, DACA was at grave risk of being shut down and nearly a million individuals brought here as children would be deported to countries of birth that have no memory of or connection to.
On Tuesday, September 5th, Attorney General Jeff Sessions did just that on behalf of Trump. He provided lies about these people to justify the move that only a fool would believe, offered no details of how the program could be wound down, and took no questions (because he has no answers).
On Tuesday, January 9th a judge saved DACA temporarily.
U.S. judge in San Francisco temporarily barred Trump’s administration on Tuesday from ending a program shielding young people brought to the United States illegally by their parents from deportation. Judge William Alsup ruled in San Francisco on Tuesday the program must remain in place while the litigation is resolved.
Alsup’s decision follows a number of rulings by other U.S. judges seeking to rein in Trump’s immigration policies, including decisions that limited administration moves against sanctuary cities and narrowed the scope of a ban against travel from some Muslim-majority counties.
Nearly 700,000 young people, known as Dreamers, were protected from deportation and allowed to work legally under the DACA program as of September 2017, Alsup’s ruling said. Alsup.... ordered the government to continue processing renewal applications from people who had previously been covered.
Mark Rosenbaum, an attorney for Public Counsel, which represents six DACA recipients in the case, applauded the ruling. “These young people played by all the rules. They demonstrated they are no threat,” he said. “They are in the military; they are studying in school; they are creating jobs. Now the courts have told the government they have to play by the rules,” Rosenbaum said.
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Let's take a step back and make sure everyone understands what DACA is and why it exists.
The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) was proposed legislation that failed in December 2010 due a Republican-controlled Senate. In response, President Obama issued DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) as an Executive Order in June 2012. Both DREAM and DACA were designed to allow people who came ot the U.S. as children and illegally residing here to get their work authorizations, Social Security number, and driver’s license. Only the DREAM Act as previously written would enable a green card to be obtained.
DACA, as a temporary step, provides a 2-year deferment from deportation actions and provides eligibility for a work permit.
DACA states that the government will not deport those who meet certain criteria, including but not limited to:
- Children who arrived here before the age of 16 and are under 31 years of age on June 15, 2012
- Individuals who are in school or possess a high school diploma
- Applicants who have lived here for at least five years
- People who have not committed serious crimes
Since DACA participants must self-identify as being unlawful residents, they are now easy to indentify and face deportation proceedings if the program is terminated by Trump and Republicans.
Under DACA, nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children were given a work permit and protected from deportation.
DACA and the HUMAN BEINGS contributing to our nation under the program are at grave risk as Republican leaders in 10 states sue to end it.
Top Republican officials in 10 states are threatening to take legal action against the Trump administration if it does not end an Obama-era program.
In a letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the group of attorneys general — plus Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter — gave the administration until Sept. 5 to begin phasing out the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, before they take up the issue in federal court.
Sources:
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/29/texas-attorney-general-end-daca-dreamers-240121
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/07/politics/daca-coming-storm/index.html
http://thehill.com/latino/345946-daca-deadline-looms-over-trump-administration
http://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=592919&p=4170929
http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/349302-dems-threaten-to-sue-trump-over-daca