DACA Back Up and Running for Dreamers

Senator Jeff Sessions arrives before the 58th Presidential Inauguration Parade at the White House reviewing stand in Washington D.C., Jan. 20, 2017.

In response to a decision given by US District Court Judge William Alsup last Tuesday, the Trump administration is immediately resuming the granting of work permits and the extension of the status as quasi-legal residents for “Dreamers.”

The White House said it is complying with the federal court order to continue the renewal process for recipients of Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals, and initiative introduced by President Obama in 2012, which President Trump curtailed several months ago.

The program, known as DACA, allows people who were brought to the US as children and who have grown up here and work and study here, to continue with their lives without fear of deportation. These people are known as “Dreamers,” by their supporters, who believe these hard-working, successful people are living the American Dream, and should be able to stay in the US where they contribute to society in many positive ways.

President Trump would like to see comprehensive immigration reform enacted by Congress which will address the problem of the Dreamers in a more permanent fashion. The problem is Trump would like to see any solution to this problem tied to funding for his expensive border wall, which many legislators see as a large waste of money.

Trump responded negatively on Twitter to the judge’s decision to reinstate DACA, saying that it demonstrates “how broken and unfair our Court System is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts.”

Judge Alsup said the decision to end DACA by Attorney General Jeff Sessions was “based on a flawed legal premise” on the part of Sessions.

In a separate by related ruling by Alsup, plaintiffs in several of the five lawsuits he is overseeing can now continue with legal claims that the cancellation of DACA was influenced by Trump’s racism which he continuously expressed during his campaign for president in 2016.

Neither the Justice Department nor Homeland Security offer a response to the judgement. Despite President Trump’s complaints, the Justice Department has not filed an appeal or request a stay of the decision.

Gail Nussbaum

Gail Nussbaum has been involved in politics and diplomacy for over 15 years. Her interest in foreign relations, economics and budget policy has led her to her position as fiscal policy writer at Left Justified. Gail can be contacted at gailnussbaum(at)leftjustified.com.

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