Tag: DACA

Supreme Court stokes DACA fight for 2020

The Hill logoThe Supreme Court’s decision to hear cases on whether President Trumplawfully ended Obama-era protections for undocumented immigrants is teeing up the program as a key issue for Democrats in the 2020 presidential election.

Friday’s order was a win for the Trump administration after a pair of federal appeals courts ruled that officials’ move to wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was unlawful and allowed the protections for “Dreamers” to stay in place.

And the order ensures that the protections for Dreamers, or undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, will remain in place as the Supreme Court considers the cases.

View the complete June 29 article by Jacqueline Thomsen on The Hill website here.

Supreme Court rejects Trump request to fast track decision on DACA case

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s request to fast track a decision on whether it will hear a case over the president’s rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The justices, in an unsigned order, denied the request, which was filed on behalf of the administration last month to expedite a decision on whether to review the case.

Solicitor General Noel Francisco, who represents the administration in cases before the Supreme Court, had urged the justices to announce their decision on whether they will hear the case by the end of their term later this month.

View the complete June 3 article by Jacqueline Thomsen on The Hill website here.

Appeals court rules Trump end of DACA was unlawful

A split federal appeals court on Friday ruled that President Trump’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was unlawful because “it was not adequately explained.”

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia found that the administration’s termination of the program was “arbitrary and capricious,” in line with a prior ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The bulk of the ruling rests on how the administration laid out its decision to rescind the DACA program.

View the complete May 17 article by Jacqueline Thomsen on The Hill website here.

DNC on Supreme Court Not Taking Up DACA

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the Trump administration’s attempt to end DACA in its current term:

“The Supreme Court made the right call today. Trump’s cruelty toward immigrants knows no bounds, but that doesn’t mean his administration can sidestep the rule of law. Trump’s attack on the DACA program goes against the will of almost 90% of Americans who want DACA recipients to stay in the U.S. These are our neighbors and friends, our classmates and co-workers. They are American in every way but on paper, and they deserve the chance to stay in the country they call home. It is long past time for Trump to stop using them as bargaining chips and work with Democrats to fix our broken immigration system.”

Federal judge says Trump must fully restore DACA

The following article by Aris Folley was posted on the Hill website August 3, 2018:

Credit: Gili Getz / Movimiento Cosecha

A federal judge ruled Friday that the Trump administration must fully restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

In his 25-page opinion, Judge John Bates said the Trump White House had again failed to provide justification for its proposal to end the Obama-era program, under which nearly 800,000 people brought to the country illegally as children, known as “Dreamers,” have received work permits and deferral from deportation.

The judge also said in his opinion that he has agreed to delay his ruling to give the Trump administration 20 days “to determine whether it intends to appeal the Court’s decision and, if so, to seek a stay pending appeal.”

View the complete article here.

‘That was not the deal’: McCarthy, Ryan renege on immigration vow

the following article by Rachael Bade was posted on the Politico website July 24, 2018:

The California Republican aiming to be speaker backs away from a promised vote on a guest worker program.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has been asking members to support him for speaker next year, when Paul Ryan is set to retire. But the standoff on a vote McCarthy promised could alienate some would-be allies. Credit: Alex Wong, Getty Images

House GOP leaders are reneging on a vow to hold an immigration vote before the August recess, a move that puts House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in a particularly awkward spot as he seeks to become the next speaker.

In June, McCarthy (R-Calif.) personally promised several rank-and-file members a vote on a new guest-worker program for farmers, an offer backed by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). The assurance was critical at the time: It persuaded Reps. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) not to sign on to an effort — which Republican leaders were desperately trying to stop — to force a vote on legislation creating a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, the immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. The so-called discharge petition ultimately fell two signatures short.

But now, Republican leaders have no plans to take up the guest-worker program before the summer break, according to four sources in leadership. Ryan does not want to hold a vote that’s certain to fail, they said — though proponents of the guest-worker bill said McCarthy’s original promise to hold a vote was unconditional.

View the complete article here.

Don’t blame this on the Democrats

To the Editor:

Congressman Erik Paulsen says that to get something done for DACA recipients, we can’t “let an activist base that hates the president stand in the way.”

Really? Does the Congressman need to be reminded that President Donald Trump is the one who ended DACA? Or that the Republican Party has been holding DREAMers hostage to achieve their policy goals?

If Erik Paulsen truly cared about giving DREAMers a path to citizenship, he would have insisted on a solution long ago, one independent of any other legislation. Instead he caters to the extremes of his party, only acting on DACA in conjunction with new, far-right border security policies.

Don’t blame this on the Democrats, Erik. It’s your party and your president that created this crisis

Sarah Eigenmann, Plymouth
Plymouth Sun-Sailor, July 10, 2018

Why Trump’s attempt to blame Democrats for ending DACA is falling flat

The following article by Amber Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website April 2, 2018:

President Trump appears to be realizing what the rest of Washington has already come to terms with: A deal to protect “dreamers” from deportation is dead.

Recognizing that hundreds of thousands of sympathetic young immigrants could be deported under his watch, he’s on a tear to blame Democrats for a deal’s falling through. Trump has declared the deal dead and then blamed Democrats for it at least three times in the past 24 hours. Continue reading “Why Trump’s attempt to blame Democrats for ending DACA is falling flat”

Dreams Deferred: A Look at DACA Renewals and Losses Post-March 5

The following article by Tom Jawetz, Nicole Prchal Svajlenka and Philip E. Wolgin was posted on the Center for American Progress website March 2, 2018:

More DACA renewal applications means fewer people losing their DACA protections in the months ahead, January 2018. Credit: Getty/Bastiaan Slabbers

On September 5, 2017, the Trump administration terminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and permitted only a subset of current DACA recipients, whose protections were set to expire on or before March 5, 2018, to file renewal applications. Predictably, this action created a March 6 cliff, where the bulk of DACA-protected individuals would begin to lose status. At the time, President Donald Trump made clear that it was the responsibility of Congress to pass legislation by March 5 to avert that crisis from unfolding. That has not happened.

In January, a federal court entered a preliminary injunction requiring the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to receive and adjudicate DACA renewal applications from young people that have previously received protection under the program. A second court entered a similar injunction weeks later. On Monday, February 26, the U.S. Supreme Court declined the federal government’s unusual request to bypass the U.S. Court of Appeals and review the injunction in the first instance, sending the case back to the lower court for further proceedings. Continue reading “Dreams Deferred: A Look at DACA Renewals and Losses Post-March 5”

Republicans Fail to Protect DREAMers, Democrats Continue to Call for Votes on Legislation to Address the DACA Crisis and Prevent Gun Violence

MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP

President Trump created a crisis by ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and gave the Republican-led Congress six months to pass legislation to allow DREAMers to remain here. This week, I was deeply disappointed that his deadline came and went without any legislation brought to the Floor to protect DREAMers and provide them with a pathway to citizenship. For months, Democrats have been calling on Republican leaders in the House to allow a vote – and we will continue to do so until a bipartisan bill is brought to the Floor. Failure to address this crisis will mean our communities will lose nurses, teachers, entrepreneurs, and other individuals who are able to contribute to our nation thanks to the DACA program.  DREAMers ought to remain in the U.S. and continue to strengthen our communities.

In addition, this week the first midterm elections were held. As the 2018 elections begin, I continue to be deeply alarmed by the incredibly weak stance the Administration has taken on Russian meddling in our elections. The Intelligence Community has made clear that Russia will continue their attempts to undermine our democracy and the U.S. is not doing enough to deter this threat. This week I, along with Democrats from the Election Security Task Force, sent a letter calling on Republicans to provide sufficient funding to the Election Assistance Commission, an agency charged with helping states secure our election infrastructure. I hope they’ll work with us to protect our democracy. Continue reading “Republicans Fail to Protect DREAMers, Democrats Continue to Call for Votes on Legislation to Address the DACA Crisis and Prevent Gun Violence”