Back in September, I wrote a column in this newspaper arguing for the continuation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the Obama era policy that protects many undocumented immigrants from deportation.
At the time, the Trump administration had announced plans to begin terminating the policy after a six month moratorium, leaving many young people in this country to fear for themselves and their families. Almost four months later, I am back to argue the same position.
Since the initial announcement, DACA has been in a continuous free fall with no legitimate plan for the future, and its future remains uncertain. The decision sparked protests nationally and faced many legal challenges in courts throughout the country. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia filed suit in New York state to stop the rescindment.
Just days later, Xavier Becerra, attorney general for California, filed a separate lawsuit, along with Maryland, Maine, and Minnesota. Six DREAMers have filed suit against the Trump administration.
Many college presidents have called the decision cruel, unfair and unjust. Several college presidents and chancellors, including our own Chancellor Folt, signed a letter to Congress urging them to act in the form of allowing students to complete their studies and have an eventual path to citizenship. The University of California took it a step further by suing the Department of Homeland Security.
As of Jan. 9, a district court in California temporarily blocked the rescindment, with the government resuming acceptance of renewal applications a few days later. Initially stating that he would repeal DACA on day one of his presidency, after mass backlash, Trump is now calling for Congress to find a solution. More specifically, he has spent his time attacking Democratic leaders via Twitter for “doing nothing about DACA.”
If Trump is fine with DACA now, why didn’t he just leave it be? Simple: he wants a few things in return. He wants a huge wall along the U.S. border. He wants to speed up immigration arrests and deportations. He wants to end chain migration. Lastly, but certainly not least, he wants to end the current immigration lottery system, citing it as “ridiculous.”
Not only are these demands ridiculous, but cruel and unjust. The fact that Trump is willing to destroy the lives of millions of Americans for sport if he doesn’t get his way is just another indication of how childish, bratty and selfish he truly is. Even if he is granted his asinine demands, it doesn’t mean that any of it will work to stop the “problem” of immigration.
Providing immigrants with a more affordable, faster and less archaic path to citizenship is what we need. It’s what we’ve needed for decades. But, that’s a long shot. It’s honestly impossible at this current moment.
