A BRIEF HISTORY
A true threat has been announced against DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), the legislation initiated by President Obama to protect young people who entered the US before the age of 16, and before June 2007.
In November 2014 Obama provided the DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans), and the DACA+ program for certain young people who did not qualify under the 2012 program guidelines.
Opposition took hold when the state of Texas and other states sued Obama against the implementation of DAPA & DACA+. They claimed that what President Obama had proposed was not constitutional.
Following this, a federal judge filed a protection against the implementation. The lawsuit came to the US Supreme Court with 4 judges against the case and 4 in favor. Because the two sides could not reach an agreement, the dream of the DAPA and DACA + was lost.
PRESENT DAY
On June 29, 2017, representatives from the state of Texas and nine other states wrote a letter to Mr. Jeff Session asking DHS (Department of Human Services) to begin disassembling the DACA program. It was threatened that if they do not, the opposing states will restart the previous lawsuit.
Attorneys in favor of the at-risk DACA, DAPA, DACA+ recipients filed in front of the federal court - the same court that imposed the first protection against DAPA and the DACA+. They argued that the court must reject the lawsuit because there is no point in monitoring the programs if they’ve never started in the first place.
The upcoming hearing is set for September 5, 2017.
THREE IMPORTANT POINTS
President Trump has the power to revoke the DACA of 2012 and terminate the program completely.
1
If the program fails, the state of Texas and the other 9 states will continue their threat of a lawsuit against the DACA program of 2012. A protection may also be imposed against the program while the courts reach a final decision.
2
If the lawsuit in the federal court starts again, the same attorney general who appoints President Trump will be the one to defend him. If that is to happen, there is not much hope.
3
WHAT WE CAN DO NOW
We encourage those who want to help to get involved with their local pro-immigration movement. There are plenty of groups who are currently acting to support the 2017 Dream Act. For example, the United We Dream organization is the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation. Visit their website to see how you can get involved: https://unitedwedream.org/
Stay informed. Stay hopeful. Stay strong.