Broken Promise? Trump Still Hasn’t Ended DACA
Broken Promise? Trump Still Hasn’t Ended DACA
By: Federal Government Relations
Throughout the 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump vowed to roll back President Obama's unconstitutional Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) amnesty on his very first day. During a notable prime-time campaign speech in Arizona that focused exclusively on his immigration positions, President Trump said he would “immediately terminate President Obama’s illegal executive amnesty in which he defied federal law and the Constitution.” (Transcript of Trump Immigration Speech) Yet, more than two months into the Trump administration, the unlawful DACA program remains in effect as if President Obama was still in office.
Each day that the program is not ended sends a welcoming message to illegal aliens and signals to the American people that our government is not serious about enforcing our immigration laws. The DACA program—instituted in 2012— grants approximately 750,000 illegal aliens a reprieve from deportation, provides work authorization for two years, and makes certain illegal alien minors eligible for some taxpayer benefits. (See FAIR Legislative update, Jan, 24, 2017) According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), it is still accepting and processing DACA requests under the existing policy. In 2016, USCIS processed about 750 DACA applications and renewals each day. (See USCIS DACA Numbers, 2016)
Despite his firm commitment to repeal DACA during the campaign, President Trump and his administration have hesitated to revoke it. In January, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, a long-time advocate for amnesty, said that President Trump will work with Congress to find a “solution” for illegal aliens who benefited from DACA, rather than immediately rescinding the unconstitutional amnesty program. (Fox News, Feb. 16, 2017) At his first presidential press conference, Trump sounded a different tune from the campaign, saying he was going to deal with DACA in a manner that “show[s] great heart” and that it was a “very, very difficult subject.” (Id.) Recently, in a closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly said, “I’m the best thing that happened to DACA – it is still on the books” and “I can guarantee you we’re not going after kids that are fully DACA qualified.” (Politico, Mar. 17, 2017) He reiterated this sentiment later, “We have not picked up — I don’t care what you read or people say — we have not in my time picked up someone who was covered by DACA.” (Congressional Quarterly, Mar. 29, 2017)
President Trump’s failure to end DACA is disappointing because it was a focal point of his campaign and a position that resonates with Americans. A Pulse Opinion Research poll commissioned by the Center for Immigration Studies just ahead of the election found that voters overwhelmingly want our immigration laws enforced. (See FAIR Legislative Update, Nov. 15, 2016) Specifically, the poll found that 56 percent of likely voters supported “causing illegal aliens to return to their home countries by penalizing employers, getting cooperation from local law enforcement, and denying welfare benefits” and 54 percent believed that there has been “too little effort placed on enforcing our immigration laws.” (Id.) A Zogby Analytics exit poll conducted on behalf of FAIR similarly found that American voters, including Hispanic Americans, want our immigration laws enforced. (See FAIR Legislative Update, Nov. 22, 2016)
While a draft executive order to repeal DACA has already been prepared, the administration has other tools at its disposal as well. (See President Trump’s Executive Actions, Jan. 26, 2017) DHS Secretary Kelly can end the program simply by instructing USCIS to stop issuing work permits. (LA Times, Feb. 16, 2017) Another option is for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to direct Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers to review the program. If the DOJ attorneys determine that DACA is not legal or that it is not a “responsible use of prosecutorial discretion” then DHS would be directed to stop issuing and renewing work permits. (Id.) Finally, the states could file a lawsuit against the Obama administration’s expanded deportation priorities which the Trump administration could decide not to defend. (Id.)
FAIR President Dan Stein said, “However much people might empathize with the situation of DACA recipients, we must make it clear that the responsibility for their circumstances rests with the parents who knowingly violates our laws and put their children in this situation. In every other area of the law, we hold lawbreakers accountable for any negative consequences to family members, and immigration law should not be the exception.” (See Dan Stein’s Op-Ed Let the DACA Program Lapse, Feb. 21, 2017)
http://www.fairus.org/legislative-up...ate-4-4-2017#1
