On September 5th of this year, the Trump administration made its first steps to phasing out DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. DACA is an Obama-era program that allows undocumented immigrants who meet specific guidelines to request consideration of deferred action (for a period of up to two years) to live, study, and work without penalty in America. Although it was not a path to citizenship, DACA applicants (commonly referred to as DREAMers) are considered lawful residents. The guidelines are as follows:
This does NOT include access to:
According to the Department of Homeland Security, current DACA holders will be permitted to retain both the period of deferred action and their employment authorization documents (EADs) until they expire, unless they are terminated or revoked. DACA benefits are typically valid for two years after they were issued. The DHS’s Frequently Asked Questions: Rescission Of Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) clears up additional information from their official statements. USCIS will adjudicate on an individual, case-by-case basis all properly filed DACA initial requests and associated applications for EADs that have been accepted as of September 5, 2017. DACA recipients are currently scrambling to turn their renewal forms in but what happens after March? If congress still hasn’t made a decision in favor of the Dreamers, they completely lose their protections March 5, 2018 and are to be deported as soon as possible after that date. The question a lot of people are asking is: why now? The Trump administration is very much against all Obama-era policies which was made apparent during and after his campaign. President Trump is saying he’s offering Congress a “chance to act.” Many politicians on both sides of the isle are split on the idea of amnesty vs. criminal offense, as if these are the only possible sides. Liberals often advocate for a more amnesty approach while on the other side of the aisle push for a more criminality centered approach to immigration They have six months to reach an agreement surrounding DACA before the end of the program in March 2018. House Republicans are currently peddling the RAISE (Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment) Act introduced by Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue. RAISE is said to make immigration for non-offending residents easier, however, it has received little traction and most house republicans are not going to be tackling immigration policy in 2017. An even more recent proposal is the Solution for Undocumented Children through Careers Employment Education and Defending our Nation Act or SUCCEED Act, spearheaded by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla. by Cydnee Jordan Links
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