Poll: Most Americans support DACA

The following article by Brett Samuels was posted on the Hill website January 14, 2018:

© Greg Nash

A large majority of Americans supports maintaining the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a new poll found.

The CBS News poll, released Sunday, shows 70 percent of Americans favor allowing those who benefit from the program, often known as “Dreamers,” to stay in the country. Congress has in recent days met to work on a long-term fix for the program.

The Obama-era measure allows certain immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children to live and work here without fear of deportation.

President Trump announced last year that he would rescind the program, and gave Congress six months to find a legislative fix.

Trump last week hosted a bipartisan discussion on immigration reform, and called on those in attendance to craft a “bill of love” to solve the issue. He said he would sign a bill presented to him.

The White House pushed back a bipartisan proposal late last week, however, and Trump has in recent days attacked Democrats for their role in DACA negotiations, claiming they don’t want to reach a deal. Republicans control both chambers of Congress.

Trump has said any DACA deal would require funding for his proposed border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

A federal judge issued a ruling last week blocking the Trump administration from ending the program while challenges to the move play out in court. As a result, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said Saturday it has allowed those who benefit from DACA to renew their protections.

The ruling doesn’t require the administration to accept new applications.

The new survey of 2,164 adults, conducted between Jan. 10-12, has a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.

View the post here.