by Yolanda Barragan
Since its establishment under the Obama Administration in 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has protected young undocumented immigrants who qualified to be recipients by meeting a series of guidelines from deportation. However, The New York Times states that under the new presidential administration headed by President Donald Trump, an end to the program was announced on Sep. 7, 2017.
The responsibility for the future of the DACA program has since been delegated to Congress. According to The Washington Post, the Trump Administration has not only called for a new immigration reform that will address the DACA program, namely the legal status of hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients, but also for stronger enforcement of the United States-Mexico border.
A nationwide preliminary injunction was issued on Jan. 9. According to The Huffington Post, under the new ruling DACA was allowed to continue as it had been before the announced end of the program and application renewals are once again being accepted.
On Jan. 13, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: Response to January 2018 Preliminary Injunction.” In the announcement made by the USCIS, acceptance of DACA renewal applications for already existing DACA recipients was once again established, according to the Official Website of the Department of Homeland Security. However, first time applications are currently not being accepted.
The responsibility for the future of the DACA program has since been delegated to Congress.
As March 5 approaches, the date the Trump Administration has set to end DACA, an immigration bill will require 60 votes in the chamber in order to secure legal protection for the citizenship of DACA recipients. According to CNBC, in exchange for a plan that will secure 1.8 million eligible immigrants for DACA, the Trump Administration is looking for financial support for a new border wall and more restrictions placed on immigration.
Both Democrat and Republican representatives have been avid supporters of the DACA program and have worked toward a fair ruling for DACA recipients. According to CNBC, as the Senate plans to open up debate on the immigration bill within the next week, Congress is seemingly only accepting legislation that is sure to be supported by President Trump.
