by Luz Moncada
During the Obama Administration, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was created for minors who were brought into and remained in the U.S. illegally. DACA would allow those that qualify to receive a work permit and delay their deportation for two years. Applicants are eligible to renew every two years.
Even though an official decision was not made, DACA recipients and supporters rallied on the deadline in an effort to get the attention of Congress since their time in this country is still unknown.
According to CNN, there are around 800,000 DACA recipients currently in the U.S. In September of 2017, President Donald Trump and his administration deemed that DACA was an unconstitutional exercise of discretion by the executive branch, and they gave Congress six months to find an appropriate solution. The DACA recipients would not be affected until the decision was to be made on the deadline of March 5.
According to USA Today, the DACA decision contributed to the government shut down in January and also states that the mediation between Congress and the White House was torn in finding a solution that both parties agreed on. The Democratic side asked for a “clean” immigration bill while Republicans’ main concern was around enforcing border security, which includes building a wall on the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
Congress did not come to a solution after the deadline of March 5 and are still in the process of finding a bipartisan decision. Even though an official decision was not made, DACA recipients and supporters rallied on the deadline in an effort to get the attention of Congress since their time in this country is still unknown.
USA Today also states that there was a Supreme Court ruling made in response to the Trump Administration deeming DACA unconstitutional. In January a federal judge in California stated that the Trump Administration “used flawed legal reasoning when it decided to end the Obama-era program, and ordered it to continue processing DACA renewals.”
The case must still go through the regular appeal process. The appeal is to be ruled in the summer and may not get back to the Supreme Court until 2019. Trump turned to Twitter to express his concern, stating, “It’s March 5th and the Democrats are nowhere to be found on DACA. Gave them 6 months, they just don’t care. Where are they? We are ready to make a deal!” Those who are recipients of DACA can still renew their application, but no new applications are being accepted.
