Trumpās DACA Decision and What This All Means:
As youāve probably already heard, Donald Trump has made the decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The administration will be giving Congress 6 months to come up with a replacement option for this. So what does this all mean exactly? Read on.
DACA is aĀ is a kind of administrative relief from deportation. The purpose of DACA is to protect eligible immigrant youth who came to the United States when they were children from deportation. DACA gives young undocumented immigrants: 1) protection from deportation, and 2) a work permit. The program expires after two years, subject to renewal.Ā
If youād like to learn more about the process and details about DACA, click the link I provided in the paragraph above. DACA is also widely misunderstood, Iād suggest reading up on what is does and finding the truth about the common myths associated with it. If youāre interested you can also read statistics about the importance and impact of DACA.
Did Jeff Sessions Lie About DACA Recipients in His Speech?
Yes. He outright lied about what DACA does, who it applies to, how it will harm immigrants, and wrongfully blamed DACA recipients for job. You can see the claims and fact checks here. You can also read the full transcript of the speech here.
Okay, So What Does Trumpās Decision Mean?
The announcement today means that the government will stop granting protections from deportation under the DACA program. The memo from the Department of Homeland Security says that people who have already applied for DACA protection will have their applications processed normally. HOWEVER, the government will no longer accept any new applications after Tuesday. Hereās what they DHS else has to say:
Will adjudicateāon an individual, case-by-case basisāproperly filed pending DACA initial requests and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents that have been accepted by the Department as of the date of this memorandum.
Will reject all DACA initial requests and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents filed after the date of this memorandum.
Will adjudicateāon an individual, case by case basisāproperly filed pending DACA renewal requests and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents from current beneficiaries that have been accepted by the Department as of the date of this memorandum, and from current beneficiaries whose benefits will expire between the date of this memorandum and March 5, 2018 that have been accepted by the Department as of October 5, 2017.
Will reject all DACA renewal requests and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents filed outside of the parameters specified above.
Will not terminate the grants of previously issued deferred action or revoke Employment Authorization Documents solely based on the directives in this memorandum for the remaining duration of their validity periods.
Will not approve any new Form I-131 applications for advance parole under standards associated with the DACA program, although it will generally honor the stated validity period for previously approved applications for advance parole. Notwithstanding the continued validity of advance parole approvals previously granted, CBP willāof courseāretain the authority it has always had and exercised in determining the admissibility of any person presenting at the border and the eligibility of such persons for parole. Further, USCIS willāof courseāretain the authority to revoke or terminate an advance parole document at any time.
Will administratively close all pending Form I-131 applications for advance parole filed under standards associated with the DACA program, and will refund all associated fees.
Will continue to exercise its discretionary authority to terminate or deny deferred action at any time when immigration officials determine termination or denial of deferred action is appropriate.
Unless Congress comes up with a solution this is whatās going to happen:Ā If your DACA protections are set to expire before March 5, you will have a month ā until October 5 ā to apply for one last renewal. And those who are set to lose protections on March 6 or later will fall back into unauthorized status.
If you are an immigrant who is eligible for DACA, but havenāt applied, you will no longer be able to apply. The government wonāt accept any applications for initial protection under DACA received after today, September 5.
If you have applied for DACA but are still waiting to hear back, you will have your application processed just as they would have been in the past. Youāre not guaranteed to get DACA but the Department of Homeland Security has said they will review and approve qualified applicants.
Will Congress Come Up With A Solution?
There are actually several bills that would offer some protection to DACA recipients that have already been introduced in Congress by both republicans and democrats. Republicans in swing states are already joining in with the democrats and calling on Congress to pass on of these bills before DACA ends.Ā
Even before the decision came out, several republicans were calling on Trump to keep DACA in place. Many of those who spoke out will now have the opportunity to vote on legislation that protects DACA recipients.Ā Last month, the Trump administration also wanted to ābargain,ā on the DACA decision. Essentially they would legalize DACA recipients in return for a conservative wish list on immigration enforcement and future restrictions on legal immigration. However this plan had little support amongst pro-DACA congressmen. Ā Ā
However, the Congress schedule is already extremely tight for the next 6 months. They have a government funding deadline to meet, they want to pass a tax reform, and thereās going to be another chance to repeal Obamacare.Ā
Thereās really no saying what could happen. The options are literally at two opposite side. Depending on what Congress comes up with, we might see nothing happen where DACA recipients would all eventually fall back intoĀ unauthorized status or we could see Congress pass something that offers even more than DACA currently provides.Ā
You can contact your senators and representatives to tell them to support a legislative solution to DACA. You can find out who represents you in Congress here.
You can let the White House know how you feel here.
Contact Congress at (202) 224-3121
Look in your area for local marches in support of the immigrants affected by this decision.
Spread this information on social media and information that will be helpful during this time. You can also use social media to contact congressmen and let them know how you feel.
You can text āRESISTā to 50409 about the DACA decision. It will immediately ask you some questions and find out your Senators so you can send a fax through there. You can customize your response to your Senators and it will later notify you once your fax has been received.
