Tag: DACA

Justice will ask Supreme Court to intervene, allow Trump administration to end DACA

The following article by Maria Sacchetti was posted on the Washington Post website January 16, 2018:

The Trump administration is appealing an injunction on the phaseout of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and asking the Supreme Court to get involved. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

The Justice Department on Tuesday said it would take the “rare step” of asking the Supreme Court to overturn a judge’s ruling and allow the Trump administration to dismantle a program that provides work permits to undocumented immigrants raised in the United States.

The Trump administration said it has appealed the judge’s injunction — which said the Obama-era program must continue for now — to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Continue reading “Justice will ask Supreme Court to intervene, allow Trump administration to end DACA”

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.

Continue reading “Poll: Most Americans support DACA”

Trump derides protections for immigrants from ‘shithole’ countries

The following article by Josh Dawsey was posted on the Washington Post website January 12, 2018:

The Fix’s Eugene Scott explains how Trump’s “shithole countries” comment is the latest example of his history of demeaning statements on nonwhite immigrants. (Video: Bastien Inzaurralde/Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

President Trump grew frustrated with lawmakers Thursday in the Oval Office when they discussed protecting immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as part of a bipartisan immigration deal, according to several people briefed on the meeting.

“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump said, according to these people, referring to countries mentioned by the lawmakers.

Trump then suggested that the United States should instead bring more people from countries such as Norway, whose prime minister he met with Wednesday. The president, according to a White House official, also suggested he would be open to more immigrants from Asian countries because he felt that they help the United States economically.

In addition, the president singled out Haiti, telling lawmakers that immigrants from that country must be left out of any deal, these people said.

“Why do we need more Haitians?” Trump said, according to people familiar with the meeting. “Take them out.”

In November, the Trump administration rescinded deportation protection granted to nearly 60,000 Haitians after the 2010 earthquake and told them to return home by July 2019.

Lawmakers were taken aback by the comments, according to people familiar with their reactions. Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) had proposed cutting the visa lottery program by 50 percent and then prioritizing countries already in the system, a White House official said.

A White House spokesman defended Trump’s position on immigration without directly addressing his remarks. White House officials did not dispute the account.

“Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people,” spokesman Raj Shah said in a statement issued after The Washington Post first reported Trump’s remarks. “. . . Like other nations that have merit-based immigration, President Trump is fighting for permanent solutions that make our country stronger by welcoming those who can contribute to our society, grow our economy and assimilate into our great nation.”

Trump built his candidacy and presidency around hard stances on immigration, vowing to build a wall along the Mexican border and cut legal immigration by half, among other positions. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security have increased immigration raids, including dozens this week at convenience stores across the country.

Trump’s comments Thursday also put further scrutiny on his long-standing tendency to make racially charged remarks — including attacks on protesting black athletes and his claim that there were fine people “on both sides” after neo-Nazis rioted in Charlottesville, Va. Trump falsely claimed for years that Barack Obama was not born in the United States and took out advertisements calling for the death penalty for members of the Central Park Five — four black youths and a Hispanic youth who were accused of a brutal rape in New York and later exonerated.

President Trump referred to African nations and Haiti as “shithole” countries on Jan. 11. Here are other nations he has insulted. (Melissa Macaya/The Washington Post)

The president’s remarks were quickly met with scorn from Demo­crats and some Republicans and could throw another wrench into bipartisan discussions on immigration, which had shown promise in recent days, according to legislators.

Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) said the comments “will shake the confidence that people have” in the ongoing immigration policy talks. Continue reading “Trump derides protections for immigrants from ‘shithole’ countries”

‘Outrageous,’ White House Says of DACA Ruling, as Trump Calls Court System ‘Broken’

The following article byEileen Sullivan was posted on the New York Times website January 10, 2018:

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said the fate of the program should be addressed by Congress. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump called the United States courts system “broken and unfair” on Wednesday, the morning after a federal judge’s ruling that ordered the administration to restart a program that shields young, undocumented immigrants from deportation.

Republicans and Democrats are in the middle of a legislative battle over the program created by President Barack Obama, called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Lawmakers met with President Trump on Tuesday to discuss the program’s future.

“We find this decision to be outrageous, especially in light of the president’s successful bipartisan meeting with House and Senate members at the White House on the same day,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said in a statement released Wednesday morning.

Hours after the White House meeting, Judge William Alsup of Federal District Court in San Francisco wrote that it was not proper to kill the program, and that the administration must “maintain the DACA program on a nationwide basis” as the legal challenge to the president’s decision in September to end the program moves forward.

Mr. Trump has previously criticized the courts system after judges have halted or held up his policy initiatives.

Ms. Sanders said the fate of the program should be addressed by Congress.

“President Trump is committed to the rule of law, and will work with members of both parties to reach a permanent solution that corrects the unconstitutional actions taken by the last administration,” Ms. Sanders said.

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Republicans: Budget deal prospects are dimming

The following article by Racael Bade, Seung Min Kim and John Bresnahan was posted on the Politico website January 8, 2018:

“[R]ight now, the Democrats are holding that deal hostage for a DACA negotiation,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn said. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Congressional Republicans and White House officials are increasingly skeptical that they’ll reach a long-term budget agreement with Democrats in the next 11 days, accusing progressives of slow-walking a spending deal until they get what they want on immigration.

Party leaders from both sides of the aisle have been quietly working to raise stiff spending caps to avert a government shutdown before Jan. 19, when federal agency funding runs dry.

But Republicans claim Democrats won’t back a long-term spending plan until Congress agrees to shield hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants from deportation. The Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which gave safe harbor to “Dreamers,” formally ends March 5, although some immigrants have already started losing their protections. Continue reading “Republicans: Budget deal prospects are dimming”

Trump’s disgraceful use of ‘dreamers’ as a bargaining chip

The following commentary by the Washington Post’s Editorial Board was posted on their website January 4, 2018:

Protesters who call for an immigration bill addressing the so-called dreamers, young adults who were brought to the United States as children, rally on Capitol Hill in December. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

AFTER ALL of President Trump’s bluster about his “great love” for “dreamers,” brought to this country as children through no fault of their own, it turns out he’s content to use them as leverage in a high-stakes game of political horse-trading. Mr. Trump seems willing to strip them of jobs, security and homes unless Democrats buckle on a range of Republican immigration priorities, including an even longer-standing object of the president’s ardor: a beautiful border wall.

In September, it was Mr. Trump who terminated the Obama-era protection for dreamers that shielded them from deportation while granting them work permits if they had clean records and met certain other requirements. At the time, he gave Congress six months to fashion a legislative fix; failing that, the president suggested he would act unilaterally to ensure their protection. Continue reading “Trump’s disgraceful use of ‘dreamers’ as a bargaining chip”

Indivisible members stand for Dreamers with light bridge brigade over I-494

The following article by Cam Bonelli was posted on the Sun-Current website January 5, 2018:

Activist group creates message in lights for drivers

On Dec. 19, Indivisible MN03 held lights on the bridge at Xerxes Avenue above I-494 to inform people about the Dream Act

Drivers on Interstate 494 may have seen the message “PASS THE DREAM ACT” overhead or in their rearview mirror in December.

An activist group, Indivisible MN, set out to shed light on a bill to provide a route to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival recipients, undocumented or Temporary Protected Status persons and those who attended high school in the U.S. and now attend college. According to the Migration Policy Institute, 5,500 Minnesotans received DACA as of September 2017, and the institute estimates 11,000 more qualify to apply.

Continue reading “Indivisible members stand for Dreamers with light bridge brigade over I-494”

In a politically perilous move, Trump will demand funding for the wall in exchange for DACA

The following article by Emily C. Singer was posted on the mic.com website January 2, 2018:

President Donald Trump looks set to demand funding for the border wall between the United States and Mexico in exchange for codifying the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program into law. This could be a politically perilous move, which could tank any potential deal to shield undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as minors from deportation.

Dan Scavino Jr. — Trump’s social media manager who is the only one authorized to tweet from the @realDonaldTrump account besides Trump himself — tweeted Tuesday morning that, “There is no DACA – without the WALL being BUILT.” Continue reading “In a politically perilous move, Trump will demand funding for the wall in exchange for DACA”

‘Dreamers’ Deal May Hinge On Separating Trump From Hard-Liners On His Staff

The following article by Lisa Mascaro and Brian Bennett of the Tribune Content Agency was posted on the National Memo website October 10, 2017:

Credit: Evan Vucci/AP

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers who favor a deal to protect some 700,000 young immigrants facing possible deportation because of the end of the Obama administration’s DACA program are seeking to drive a wedge between President Donald Trump and hard-liners on his staff, launching appeals directly to a president who they see as potentially sympathetic to people brought illegally to the U.S. as children.

In his public comments, Trump has shown an unwillingness to be boxed in by his most hard-line advisers on immigration. He initially wavered on what to do with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has protected the young immigrants known as “Dreamers,” then openly contradicted Attorney General Jeff Sessions hours after the attorney general announced the end of the program last month. Continue reading “‘Dreamers’ Deal May Hinge On Separating Trump From Hard-Liners On His Staff”

Trump administration releases hard-line immigration principles, threatening deal on ‘dreamers’

The following article by David Nakamura was posted on the Washington Post website October 8, 2017:

The Trump administration released a list of hard-line immigration principles Oct. 8, which could threaten to derail a deal in Congress to protect “dreamers” from deportation. (Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post)

The Trump administration released a list of hard-line immigration principles late Sunday that threaten to derail a deal in Congress to allow hundreds of thousands of younger undocumented immigrants to remain in the country legally.

The administration’s wish list includes the funding of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a crackdown on the influx of Central American minors and curbs on federal grants to “sanctuary cities,” according to a document distributed to Congress and obtained by The Washington Post. Continue reading “Trump administration releases hard-line immigration principles, threatening deal on ‘dreamers’”