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B U L L E T I N
Voice of the Fields California
June 2018
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Volume 28, Number 6
DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVAL
DACA Update
P
RESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ANNOUNCED the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program in 2012. He emphasized that DACA was not a permanent fix, and that only Congress had the power to create a law that would formalize Dreamers’ immigration status. In August of 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump promised to terminate DACA immediately as part of his 10-point immigration plan. He claimed that DACA was an illegal executive amnesty that defied federal law. After President Trump was elected, he stated that he wanted to find a solution for Dreamers that would satisfy everyone. Unfortunately, on September 5, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump administration would be rescinding DACA. On January 9, 2018, Trump met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss a legislative fix for Dreamers. During this meeting, Trump suggested he would be willing to support a more comprehensive immigration reform. That
same evening, a San Francisco federal judge ordered the U.S. government to continue accepting all DACA renewals. Between January 11 and 15, bipartisan DACA discussions took a step back after it was reported that Trump used vulgar language to describe the countries of origin of many immigrants. On January 16, the U.S. Justice Department announced that it would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the federal court order that forced them to resume accepting DACA renewal applications. They also said they would appeal the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On February 13, 2018 a New York federal judge also ordered the administration to accept all DACA renewals.
On February 26, 2018 the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case before it was reviewed by the appeals court. This meant that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals would hear the case. The March 5, 2018 deadline passed and nothing was done to resolve DACA. On April 24, 2018 a D.C. federal court ruled that the Trump administration must continue DACA in its entirety by accepting new applications and processing renewal applications. Federal Judge John Bates gave the Department of Homeland Security 90 days to explain the unlawfulness of the DACA program. If they fail to do so, they must continue the DACA program. Sources: www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/ jan/22/timeline-daca-trump-administrationand-government-/ www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/us/daca-dreamers-trump.html www.cnn.com/2018/01/02/politics/dacaexplained/index.html www.ilrc.org/sites/default/files/resources/daca-infographic-20180430.pdf