What's Next For DACA Recipients?

What’s Next For DACA Recipients?

 

You can be excused if you feel like you have whiplash.  The turmoil and mixed messages that have swirled since the announcement was made terminating the DACA program on September 5^th make it difficult to keep up.

Here’s a quick assessment of where we are – at least as of 1:27 p.m. on September 14, 2017:

                The DACA program is still winding down (as described in our previous post on this Blog).   As the program slowly dies, no new petitions are allowed, but anyone whose existing DACA benefits are set to expire before March 5, 2018, still have until October 5, 2017 to file an application for renewing his or her benefits.  The March 5 deadline is significant because it represents a 6-month invitation to Congress to draft and pass its own legislation to provide immigration benefits to the young adults who benefitted from the DACA program – (also referred to as ‘DREAMERS’).

                Shortly after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the termination of the program, tweets from President Trump infer that he is still supportive of the beneficiaries of the DACA program, and even went so far as to say that if Congress did not act by March 5^th, he might consider taking some other action that might be beneficial to these persons.

                Then, last night, Democratic leaders meeting with President Trump announced that they had all agreed to support legislation that would give immigration benefits to DREAMERS, and that funding for ‘The Wall’ between the U.S. and Mexico would not be a part of the Bill being negotiated.  Reports indicate that President Trump did not agree to not continue pursuing construction and funding for ‘The Wall’ – just that he would not pursue funding in the same Bill that would give DREAMERS immigration benefits.  (From a practical standpoint, this would increase the likelihood of passage of a ‘DREAM’ Act, since including funding for ‘The Wall’ would prevent Democrats from supporting the Bill.)

                For all of the excitement these developments seem to create, we would caution against getting too optimistic at this stage.  The history here shows that positions on this type of immigration reform have been predictably inconsistent.  Furthermore, we should be reminded that the DACA program was created only after the President and some Congressional leaders supporting a ‘DREAM’ act failed to get a Bill through Congress – which is precisely the same situation we are now in. 

It takes more than a President and some Senators and Representatives wanting to pass legislation.  It takes a majority of Senators and a majority of Representatives to vote for legislation in both houses of Congress that supports giving benefits to immigrants who are not currently in status.

Given recent history, it’s far from a sure bet that they would work together to get such a Bill passed, even if the President supports it.

But to end on a more optimistic note, it does appear that there is a broad measure of support for these young adults and their plight that seems to transcend political parties and ideology.  So stay tuned to see what happens next. 

 

                Your Immigration Team at

               Hunter, Smith & Davis, LLP