Continues Drive to End Popular Program and Put Dreamers on a Path to Deportation
On Day One of its convention, the Republican Party portrayed itself as the “law and order” party. But as we have learned the hard way, it’s critical to watch what they do and not what they say. Take the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on DACA, and you’ll see what “law and order” means. It means protections for friends and members of the Trumpian cult, and lawless cruelty directed at the non-white other. Here are the facts.
- Trump’s renewed efforts to restrict DACA is in defiance of a Supreme Court ruling: Yesterday, Trump’s USCIS issued a new memo authored by Acting Secretary of DHS Chad Wolf that ignores the recent Supreme Court DACA decision and is in open defiance of a subsequent federal court ruling mandating the administration open the program to new applicants.
- Chad Wolf is illegally serving as Acting DHS Secretary and his anti-DACA memo has no legal standing: Earlier this month, a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the senior leadership of DHS, starting with Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, are not legally eligible to serve in their current roles and were unlawfully appointed. Therefore, Wolf’s DACA memo should carry no weight.
- Attacks on DACA and Dreamers are a politically toxic feature of Trump’s first term and will be on the ballot this November: Trump ended DACA in 2017 and his administration has fought ever since to put Dreamers on a path to deportation. In poll after poll, four-fifths of the country and a majority of Republicans support a permanent solution that recognizes Dreamers – and members of their families and communities – are Americans in all but paperwork. The fate of DACA and Dreamers in this country will be on the ballot in November.
According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice,
The Supreme Court recently ruled that the administration ended DACA in 2017 unlawfully. A federal court subsequently ruled that the administration must fully reopen the DACA program. Chad Wolf, the illegally appointed acting DHS Secretary is illegally defying both.
This from the ‘law and order’ party.
While Trump may feign concern and promise relief for Dreamers, he’s a habitual liar and the facts are clear. He ended the program in 2017. Since then, he’s blown up every bipartisan proposal to provide relief to DACA recipients. And now that the Supreme Court and federal courts have ruled against him, he continues to do what he wants and not what the courts orders.
Watch what they do and not what they say.
Americans overwhelmingly want a President and a Congress that formally recognizes Dreamers as the Americans they already are. This is neither controversial or difficult – if we have leaders who come together to enact solutions. The emerging multiracial majority in our nation rejects the racism and xenophobia of Trump and his GOP enablers and is ready for a new day that brings long overdue breakthroughs.
Imagine the public reaction when a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress enact legislation that welcomes undocumented immigrants who have lived here for decades. Imagine the relief felt by undocumented immigrants, many of whom are deemed essential yet deportable. Imagine the Dreamers hugging, the farm workers cheering, and the business and homeowners with TPS crying. Imagine the vast majority of Americans applauding.
A new day is coming soon. A day when our neighbors, friends, colleagues and loved ones can get on the newly-created path to the full rights and responsibilities of citizenship. A day when we can take a step out of the darkness of the past and into the light of a brighter, more inclusive, more American future.
