America would lose if DACA recipients are forced out, says Mexico’s foreign secretary
Recent comments from President Trump and senior Democrats over the fate of the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program, DACA, have triggered confusion among supporters and detractors of the plan.
For Mexico, whose nationals comprise the majority of DACA recipients, one thing is clear: Phasing out the program -- which protects some young people who entered the country illegally as minors from deportation -- would hurt America.
“I don’t know of any country that is willing to ship doctors, accountants, lawyers to another country,” Mexico’s foreign secretary Luis Videgaray told The Times in an interview Tuesday. “That’s just a transfer of human capital. That would be a big win for Mexico to have these young kids that are law abiding, creative, full of energy and well trained. All of them have a high school diploma. And the majority of them are college educated. It would be a big loss to the U.S., to the U.S. economy in particular.”
Videgaray said contingency plans had been made in case DACA recipients were forced back to Mexico. They include changing the laws in Mexico so that education certificates issued in the U.S. are recognized by Mexican institutions, allowing returnees to avoid problems transferring their professional skills; ensuring their eligibility for loans and social benefits; and creating a data base to match returnees with appropriate companies.
“It’s very appealing to have college educated, English-speaking people and many companies in Mexico are looking for that profile of people,” Videgaray said.
Trump pushes deal on DACA as many supporters erupt in anger
President Trump on Thursday defended his negotiations with Democratic leaders on immigration, as many of his most prominent supporters denounced the idea of a deal to legalize the status of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who are in rthis county illegally.
“We’re working on a plan — subject to getting massive border controls. We’re working on a plan for DACA,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he prepared to fly to Florida to inspect hurricane recovery efforts.
DACA is the acronym for the Obama administration program that shielded nearly 800,000 young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, the so-called Dreamers, from deportation. Trump last week said he would phase out the program starting in six months.
“People want to see that happen,” Trump said, referring to a legislative solution for the Dreamers. “You have 800,000 young people, brought here, no fault of their own. So we’re working on a plan, we’ll see how it works out. We’re going to get massive border security as part of that. And I think something can happen, we’ll see what happens, but something will happen,” he said.
Responding to a shouted question on whether he favors “amnesty,” Trump shouted back: “The word is DACA.”
Trump met for dinner Wednesday night with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) to discuss the issue. Shortly after the dinner, the two Democrats issued a statement saying that they had agreed with Trump to pursue legislation to legalize the status of Dreamers.
The two released an additional statement Thursday morning saying that “as we said last night, there was no final deal, but there was agreement on the following: We agreed that the President would support enshrining DACA protections into law, and encourage the House and Senate to act.”
“What remains to be negotiated are the details of border security, with a mutual goal of finalizing all details as soon as possible,” they added.
The deal would not include money for Trump’s long-sought wall along the border with Mexico, they said, adding that. “the President made clear he intends to pursue it at a later time, and we made clear we would continue to oppose it.”
“Both sides agreed that the White House and the Democratic leaders would work out a border security package. Possible proposals were discussed including new technology, drones, air support, sensor equipment, rebuilding roads along the border and the bipartisan McCaul-Thompson bill,” a reference to a border security measure.
Trump confirmed most of that, telling reporters that “the wall will come later.”
“We’re right now renovating large sections of wall, massive sections, making it brand new,” he said, referring to efforts to repair and upgrade some sections of existing border fences.
Trump also said he had briefed House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on his discussions with Schumer and Pelosi and that they were “on board.”
Talk of a deal, however, sparked angry reactions among many of Trump’s supporters.
“Amnesty Don ... Trump Caves on DACA,” screamed the headline on Breitbart, the conservative website run by Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist.
Sean Hannity, the Fox commentator and one of Trump’s most loyal supporters, likened the president’s negotiations to President George H.W. Bush’s breaking of his “no new taxes” pledge — a decision that led to a conservative revolt that doomed Bush’s presidency.
Ann Coulter, the conservative commentator who already has been critical of Trump, went the furthest, calling for Trump’s removal from office.
California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra to announce a lawsuit challenging Trump’s DACA decision
California on Monday will wade into the legal battle over President Trump’s decision to scrap the nation’s 5-year-old program protecting young immigrants without legal residency.
15 states, D.C. file lawsuit challenging Trump’s DACA shutdown
Lawyers for 15 states, led by New York and Washington, filed suit against President Trump on Wednesday over his planned repeal of the DACA program, arguing that federal authorities have “backtracked” on their promise to protect young immigrants who came forward and registered with the government.
They urged a federal judge in Brooklyn to block the move to rescind the Obama-era program on the grounds the reversal is “unauthorized by and contrary to the Constitution and laws of the United States.”
“It’s clear that President Trump’s DACA repeal would cause huge economic harm to New York—and that’s it’s driven by President Trump’s personal anti-Mexican bias,” said New York Atty. Gen. Eric Schneiderman who led the suit.
He was joined by state attorneys from Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.
California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Tuesday he too planned to sue to defend Obama’s 2012 order, which has protected from deportation more than 200,000 immigrants who came to this country as children and settled in California. However, he did not sign on the New York suit.
The legal action by the Democratic state lawyers mirrors a similar effort by Republican attorneys from Texas and more than 20 other states. They filed suit in a federal court in south Texas alleging Obama had gone too far in 2014 when he expanded DACA and introduced a new program to cover about four million immigrant parents who had legal children in this country.
The Texas suit led to a national order that blocked Obama’s 2014 policy from taking effect. While conservatives have described Obama’s action as unconstitutional, the Texas judge ruled on procedural grounds that the Democratic administration failed to publish its new rule as an official regulation.
Now the Democratic state attorneys argue that the abrupt repeal on the DACA order should also be blocked on procedural grounds.
They also say the repeal should be blocked on the grounds that it is motivated by discrimination against Mexicans and because it violates the “due process of law” by suddenly changing the rules for the young immigrants.
12:56 p.m.: This article was updated with staff reporting.
Democrats make Capitol Hill pitch for quick consideration of DACA fix
DACA supporters pledge to protect one another
Thousands who were supposed to march to the federal building in downtown Los Angeles to protest President Trump’s move to end the so-called Dreamers’ program instead stopped in front of City Hall on Tuesday evening.
As organizers and DACA students spoke on the steps, many in the crowd who couldn’t hear their words hoisted signs and led their own chants of, “Immigrants are welcome here.”
“It’s important to show up, especially now that the Trump administration and other forces are threatening our livelihood,” said Sean Tan, a 24-year-old DACA recipient and public policy graduate student at UCLA, who spoke at the rally.
The march ended shortly after 7 p.m., with the crowd facing City Hall with hands clasped and raised in the air, pledging to protect and fight for one another.
But they didn’t disperse immediately, instead continuing to chant.
For the record: A caption in this post previously misspelled the name of protester Zuleyma Chazari. It has been corrected.
California education officials vow to protect vulnerable students from deportation
Within minutes of the Trump administration’s announcement that it would end protections for nearly 800,000 young immigrants in the country without legal status, California campus leaders began a furious pushback.
From large campuses to small, education leaders on Tuesday vowed to join together to protect their vulnerable students.
California is home to the nation’s largest concentration of students — about 214,000 as of last year — who received temporary protection from deportation under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Thousands gather in downtown L.A. in support of DACA
Thousands filled Placita Olvera in downtown Los Angeles with their babies, their students, their loved ones and friends, all in protest of President Trump’s decision Tuesday to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
They began to gather before 5 p.m., leading chants including, “We are the immigrants, mighty might immigrants” and a protest favorite, “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido” (The people united will never be defeated).
By 5:50 p.m., the speeches began but were difficult to hear. That didn’t stop the masses from cheering and holding up their signs.
“Somebody’s got the video on Twitter. We’ll see it later,” Los Angeles Leadership Academy history teacher Peta Lindsay told Bryan Peña, an 18-year-old DACA recipient and freshman at Cal State L.A.
When Peña got to the protest, he was reminded that relative to undocumented students in other states, he has some support in California.
“This is a sign ... that we’re welcome here,” he said, pointing to the crowd and their signs with messages like “Protect immigrant families!” and “Let my students dream.”
But outside of California, it’s a different story, he said.
“I’m still not accepted in the USA.”
Shortly after 6 p.m., protesters began their march along Alameda Street toward the federal building.
Activists rally in L.A. to support DACA
Trump’s move to end DACA faces legal challenges
President Trump’s repeal of an Obama-era program that shielded hundreds of thousands of “Dreamers” from deportation faces a determined challenge in the courts from immigrant rights lawyers who call the change abrupt, unjustified and unconstitutional.
But they recognize it will not be easy to block Trump’s action because the president has broad power over immigration enforcement, a point often made when President Obama was in the White House.
Some are already looking to a federal judge in Brooklyn, N.Y., who has before him a lawsuit filed on behalf of Martin Batalla Vidal, who was born in Mexico, but has lived in New York since he was brought there as a 7-year-old. His lawsuit, related to a proposed expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that was blocked in 2015, is pending before U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, a President Clinton appointee.
On Tuesday, a team of immigrants rights lawyers sent a six-page letter to the judge saying they wanted to expand Vidal’s lawsuit and make it a challenge to Trump’s repeal order.
DACA fears in an L.A. Unified classroom
The news can teach you lessons and teachers have your back.
That’s the message David Wiltz told his social studies students at Thomas Jefferson High School south of downtown L.A. on Tuesday.
The juniors, a mix of English learners and special-needs students, fidgeted, listened and rested their heads on their desks as Wiltz engaged them in a conversation about President Trump’s decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
“Quick question: Did you hear what happened this morning?” he asked, pointing a long ruler at students. “What did Trump do this morning?
L.A. county and city officials call on Congress to pass Dream Act
Los Angeles politicians on Tuesday criticized the Trump administration’s decision to scrap protections for young men and women in the United States without legal status and urged Congress to pass legislation to aid so-called Dreamers.
Los Angles County supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti rallied downtown to join supporters of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The program, put in place by then-President Obama, shields those brought to the country illegally as children from being deported.
U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions said Tuesday that the administration will phase out DACA beginning in six months, a move that pushes the issue to Congress.
Sessions’ announcement marked “one of those dark days in our history,” said Solis, whose district includes many immigrant communities, including El Monte and Boyle Heights.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein says she agrees DACA is ‘on shaky legal ground’ as she calls on Congress to act
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) signaled Tuesday that she believes former President Obama’s executive order to protect young immigrants who were brought into the U.S. as minors was on shaky legal ground, and said that is why Congress must act.
Feinstein was asked about the legality of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program during an appearance on MSNBC.
“DACA was executive order. Legal is the law of passage of something,” Feinstein responded. “You know there are 10 attorneys general that are prepared to sue. I don’t want to get into that. The point is DACA is here and we’ve got 800,000 young people who depend on this.”
“Meet the Press Daily” host Chuck Todd said that Feinstein’s answer implied that the program was “on shaky legal ground.”
“It is,” Feinstein responded. “That’s why we need to pass a law, and we should do it.”
The Democrat’s words questioning the legality of the DACA program seemed to echo U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions’ explanation for why the Trump administration was phasing it out, saying that Obama had exceeded his legal authority.
Feinstein’s remarks are likely to fuel criticism among the most liberal members of her party, some of whom have said that she has grown out of touch with her constituents as she ponders whether to seek a sixth term next year. Feinstein set off a furor last week when she declined to call for President Trump’s impeachment and urged “patience” over his presidency.
After this item was published, a spokeswoman for Feinstein emailed to clarify that the senator was “obviously” referring to the legal threat posed by the lawsuit that the state attorneys general were threatening.
Updated at 4:45 p.m.: This post was updated to add a comment from Feinstein’s office.
Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton applauds Trump for scrapping DACA
Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton on Tuesday praised President Trump’s decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that gave protection from deportation and work permits to more than 800,000 immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children.
Paxton described the program, commonly known as DACA, as “unlawful” because former President Obama created it in 2012 without congressional authorization.
“The Obama-era program went far beyond the executive branch’s legitimate authority,” Paxton said in a statement.
On June 29, Paxton was among nine state attorneys general and one governor who co-signed a letter to the Trump administration setting a Sept. 5 deadline to phase out DACA or face the coalition’s challenge to the program in court.
“I applaud President Trump for phasing out DACA,” Paxton said. “Had former President Obama’s unilateral order on DACA been left intact, it would have set a dangerous precedent by giving the executive branch sweeping authority to bypass Congress and change immigration laws.”
The program targets young people — sometimes called Dreamers — who arrived in the U.S. before they were 16 years old and were under the age of 31 as of June 2012. It also requires continuous residence in the U.S. since 2007.
Those who qualified for the program were granted two-year renewable work permits.
Paxton also led a U.S. Supreme Court challenge, filed by 26 states, to an expanded program known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, introduced by Obama in November 2014. The so-called DAPA expansion sought to shield certain immigrants who have lived in the United States illegally since 2010 and grant them three-year renewable work permits.
In February 2015, the Supreme Court issued a preliminary injunction temporarily halting that program from going into effect, and in June the Trump administration announced that the program would not be implemented.
Editorial: Ending DACA was an act of pure cruelty by Trump
What public good is achieved by yanking such people from their homes, families and communities and sending them to countries where they are strangers and often don’t even speak the language?
— The Times Editorial Board
Democratic candidate for governor Delaine Eastin says ‘Dreamers’ ‘trusted us’ with their lives
Former state schools chief Delaine Eastin, a Democrat running for California governor, on Tuesday expressed strong support for the young people currently shielded from deportation under the DACA program.
Eastin has called for enhanced protections of all immigrants and has been a harsh critic of the Trump administration since jumping into the race last fall. Along with supporting the impeachment of the president, Eastin has blasted efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and said she favors establishing a single-payer health care program.
Eastin on Tuesday called on Congress to immediately take action to protect young people known as Dreamers.
“The President’s decision to end DACA is devastating to some of our best and brightest young people,” Eastin said in a statement.
California legislators say state should be a ‘beacon of hope and opportunity’ for DACA recipients
California lawmakers said Tuesday that they plan to protect young adults whose immigration status is jeopardized by the end of the DACA program.
At news conference at the Capitol attended by more than 20 legislators, Senate Speaker Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) said California should be “beacon of hope and opportunity.”
“We’re not going to allow one single executive decision on DACA to reverse generations of progress at the height of our historic diversity, economic output and our sense of global responsibility,” he said.
Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell), chair of the Legislative LGBT Caucus, said Trump’s other actions against Muslims and transgender service members don’t show a commitment to diversity.
“Our president clearly wasn’t held enough as a child,” he said. “It’s important that we talk about how we embrace love.”
Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael), chairman of the Legislative Jewish Caucus, called the President’s decision “evil.”
“He has lulled and lured young people to register with the government ... and then take that information and use it as a tool to deport them,” Levine said. “That is ethnic cleansing.”
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) said there are up to 20 bills in the Legislature that protect immigrant rights.
“Young people who know no other country than this need to know that their country will do the right thing,” he said. “This Legislature will be leading the way and making sure that California does the right thing.”
Mayor Garcetti responds to Trump administration ending DACA program
Mayor Garcetti responds to Trump administration ending DACA program.
California officials say they are prepared to take legal action over ‘unconstitutional’ decision to wind down DACA
California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Tuesday that the state was prepared to sue the Trump administration over its decision to wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, a move he called “unconstitutional” as it could violate the rights of thousands of young immigrants who followed its rules.
“They paid fees. They went through background checks. They are paying taxes. They are doing everything that was asked of them,” Becerra said at a news conference in Sacramento, alongside state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León and California Secretary of State Alex Padilla.
The decision to rescind the program, Becerra said, puts in jeopardy all those people who came out of the shadows and “relied on representations of the federal government.”
Becerra, Padilla and De León said they were prepared to take a stand as leaders of the state and as the sons of immigrants themselves.
De León said he was working with a team of lawyers, including former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., to challenge the administration on the labor and employment issues the decision could raise, which the officials said could severely impact the California economy.
“The actions today more than horrify me,” De León said. “This great nation was built on the dreams of immigrants who came here looking for a better way of life, and in doing so, enriched us all.”
Padilla said Trump’s decision to have U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions announce the termination of DACA was callous and cowardly. Padilla repeated comments he made on CNN soon after the decision was announced, telling young immigrants, known as Dreamers, that some elected officials would do everything in their power to fight for them.
“It is not lost on me that about 10 days after the pardon of Sheriff [Joe] Arpaio in Arizona that Donald Trump now takes the protections of DACA,” Padilla said. “If he really cared about Dreamers, he alone could save DACA, or at least keep it in place.”
In Mexico, deportees protest end of DACA: ‘It’s an attack on our children’
Protests against President Trump’s decision to end a program for young immigrants extended to Mexico City, where activists demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy.
“Out with Trump! Save DACA!” the protesters chanted Tuesday as armed security officers stood guard.
The protest was hastily organized by migrant advocates in Mexico after the White House announced that young people currently shielded from deportation and allowed to work legally in the U.S. will begin losing their protection in March unless Congress acts before then.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, protects nearly 800,000 young people who were brought to the U.S. as children, often known as Dreamers. Nearly 80% of them were born in Mexico and could be deported here.
Many of those demonstrating in Mexico City were themselves deportees. Some of them have children living in the U.S. who are currently protected by DACA.
“We all have someone in our family who is a Dreamer,” said Diego Maria, who was deported last month and is a part of a group called Deportees United in the Fight.
Ana Laura Lopez, who was also deported last year, said her 15-year-old son was preparing to apply for DACA next year. She brought him to the U.S. when he was just 3 months old.
Lopez called Trump’s decision on DACA “another hate attack against out community.”
“They’ve deported us,” she said. “And now they are assaulting our children.”
“It’s an attack on our children who have done nothing but come to the U.S. with their parents, who came to work.”
“The idea of him having to say goodbye to his school and his life and his friends is terrible,” Lopez said, crying.
“It’s been hard enough for me coming back here,” she added. “Imagine what it would be like for those who have never lived here.”
San Diego’s Republican mayor says immigration problems should not be fixed ‘on the backs of innocent children’
Are you a DACA participant? We want to hear from you
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Mayor Rahm Emanuel declares Chicago a ‘Trump free zone’ after DACA decision
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday that the city will continue to welcome Dreamers despite President Trump’s decision to end the DACA program.
“To all the Dreamers that are here in this room and the city of Chicago, you are welcome in the city of Chicago. This is your home and you have nothing to worry about,” Emanuel said to a group of students.
“Chicago — our schools our neighborhoods, our city, as it relates to what President Trump said — will be a Trump-free zone. You have nothing to worry about,” he said.
In 2012, then-President Obama started the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. Under the program, young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children were protected from deportation. Trump announced Tuesday that those protections will end next March unless Congress acts before then.
Emanuel served as Obama’s chief of staff from January 2009 to October 2010. Obama on Tuesday called Trump’s action wrong and self-defeating.
Obama calls DACA action cruel and unnecessary
The Trump administration’s decision to strip legal protection from hundreds of Dreamers is cruel, immoral and unnecessary, former President Obama said in a scathing statement that called on Congress to restore the protections that he created through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
“To target these young people is wrong — because they have done nothing wrong,” Obama’s statement said. “It is self-defeating — because they want to start new businesses, staff our labs, serve in our military, and otherwise contribute to the country we love. And it is cruel. What if our kid’s science teacher, or our friendly neighbor turns out to be a Dreamer? Where are we supposed to send her? To a country she doesn’t know or remember, with a language she may not even speak?”
Obama challenged claims by the administration that the program was legally precarious. He said the move against DACA was not required by law. “It’s a political decision, and a moral question,” Obama said. And he warned the move will ultimately undermine the economy and the strength of the nation.
“Whatever concerns or complaints Americans may have about immigration in general, we shouldn’t threaten the future of this group of young people who are here through no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking away anything from the rest of us,” Obama said in the statement.
“Kicking them out won’t lower the unemployment rate, or lighten anyone’s taxes, or raise anybody’s wages.”
“Ultimately,” Obama’s statement said, “this is about basic decency.”
Protesters march in Washington to show support for DACA
As the Trump administration announced it would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the scene outside the White House on Tuesday was boisterous, angry but also hopeful as DACA participants and supporters declared their intent to fight for the program.
About 250 protesters holding red white and blue balloons, American flags and signs reading “Defend Dreamers,” marched from the White House to the Department of Justice, where Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions made the announcement, then to the U.S. Immigration and Enforcement Office.
They chanted phrases such as “Up, up with education; down, down with deportation” and “Shame on you, Donald Trump.”
“We’re not going to fold our arms, we’re going to stand up and fight,” said Jesus Perez, who came to the U.S. from Mexico with his parents when he was 5. Perez, 25, a research assistant at Johns Hopkins University, was involved in the initial movement for DACA with former President Obama.
Immigration advocacy and assistance organization CASA partnered with several local groups, including Unite Here and property service workers union SEIU 32BJ, to host the protest. “Clearly people were very anxious awaiting the president’s announcement,” said Elizabeth Alex, an organizer with CASA. “People are not happy. People are going to continue this fight.”
“We’re not going to let him take DACA from us,” said Eliseo Magos, 23, a DACA participant originally from Mexico who was carrying a bundle of balloons as he marched.
CASA and other local organizations were joined by groups from around the country, including HOLA from Cleveland, whose members wore matching yellow shirts, and Make the Road Pennsylvania, whose marchers carried red flags reading “Sin Miedo,” meaning “Without fear.”
Carlos Esteban Arellano, 31, who was born in Mexico, said he hoped the protest would help people “see the face of DACA” as hard-working immigrants who want to help others and the United States. “This is my home. My home is not the place I was born,” Arellano said. “I hope they hear our voice.”
John Cox, GOP candidate for California governor, applauds Trump’s DACA decision and calls on Congress to act
In Denver, DACA decision prompts school walkout
Hundreds of students in Denver walked out of their classes Tuesday to protest President Trump’s decision to end the program that has shielded many young immigrants from deportation.
Shortly after Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions publicly announced the administration’s plan, students poured out of their classes. Some carried signs urging lawmakers, “Defend DACA.”
The students, along with other supporters of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, gathered on the Auraria Campus — the location of three colleges in the city’s downtown.
Similar protests are expected to take place across Southern California.
California Republicans make digs at Obama in DACA responses
Several California Republicans indicated Tuesday they want Congress to address the legal status of people brought to the country illegally as children.
Unlike the rash of statements from Democrats that criticized President Trump for ending the program, many of the Republicans’ statements blamed President Obama for creating it in the first place in 2012 when Congress reached a stalemate on immigration legislation.
“The Constitution mandates that Congress, not the president, write the laws. DACA, while well-intentioned, was an unconstitutional abuse of executive power. Our nation and our government cannot function unless we uphold the Constitution and the rule of law,” said Rep. Mimi Walters of Irvine.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield said: “President Obama was wrong to try and make immigration law by executive order like he did with DACA and DAPA. It is Congress’ role and responsibility to make immigration law, and I believe this is an issue that Congress needs to address.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce of Fullerton said: “The status of eligible DACA recipients should not change from one administration to the next. Congress should act now to provide a permanent, legislative solution that gives certainty to these kids. We should not deny residence to children who have only known America as their home, positively contributed to this great country and passed a background check.”
Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista said he hopes the decision will be a catalyst for immigration reform.
“The administration’s decision [Tuesday] puts the onus on Congress to address this challenge in the right way: for the long haul, with respect for our nation’s laws, a desire to enhance the integrity of our borders and a sense of compassion for those who were brought here in their childhood years ago and wish to stay as productive members of our communities,” he said.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach said Obama created a “legal headache and public heartache.” Many Republicans have said Obama overstepped his authority by creating the program.
“I applaud President Trump and Atty. Gen. [Jeff] Sessions as they restore rigorous constitutional standards to the vexing issue of illegal immigration. As the president suggested, it is now up to Congress, and we must face the issue squarely and fearlessly,” Rohrabacher added.
Rep. Ken Calvert of Corona said along with providing assurance for the Dreamers, Congress need to address border security and deporting people who overstay their visas.
“I think it’s truly important that everyone acknowledge that we must restore the rule of law and enact new policies that ensure we don’t find ourselves in this same situation years down the road,” Calvert said.
Rep. Duncan Hunter’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper said, “The truth is that President Obama overstepped by excluding Congress from the decision-making process on DACA. President Trump is putting it back in the hands of Congress, where the discussion and consideration should have been from the start.”
Reps. Jeff Denham of Turlock, Steve Knight of Palmdale and David Valadao of Hanford commented earlier in the day.
1:21 p.m.: This article was updated to include response from Rep. Ken Calvert of Corona.
This article was originally published at 12:33 p.m.
Photos: Activists across the U.S. rally in support of DACA
California’s Republican leaders call on Congress to find a solution to accommodate Dreamers
Republican legislative leaders in California said Tuesday it is up to Congress now to fix the nation’s immigration laws following President Trump’s decision to end the DACA program.
The statements reflected an effort by the California GOP to avoid alienating Latino voters with hard-line positions on immigration.
“The president has rescinded an unconstitutional executive order from the prior administration that he had committed to reverse during the campaign,” said state Senate Republican leader Patricia Bates of Laguna Niguel. “Now the real work must begin.”
Bates said it is important that Congress pass a “lasting solution” that will allow the 800,000 people participating in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to “continue to pursue their educations, careers and contributions to our great nation.”
Assembly Republican leader Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley agreed that a solution is needed to allow youth who have benefited from DACA to stay in the United States.
“America should not be in the business of deporting children who came to this country through no fault of their own,” Mayes said. “Much like the children of the immigrants who built this country, these children followed their parents to America, and to send them home would mean sending them to a country they’ve never known. These are our neighbors. They attend our schools, they speak English, they pay taxes and they played by the rules.”
State Republican leaders have been frustrated by the lack of action from Congress on immigration.
“If today’s decision by the president to abandon DACA doesn’t force Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform, I don’t know what will,” Mayes said.
Read former President Obama’s response to the DACA decision
Former President Barack Obama issued this statement a few hours after the Trump administration announced it would phase out the DACA program.
***
Statement from President Obama
Immigration can be a controversial topic. We all want safe, secure borders and a dynamic economy, and people of goodwill can have legitimate disagreements about how to fix our immigration system so that everybody plays by the rules.
But that’s not what the action that the White House took today is about. This is about young people who grew up in America – kids who study in our schools, young adults who are starting careers, patriots who pledge allegiance to our flag. These Dreamers are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper. They were brought to this country by their parents, sometimes even as infants. They may not know a country besides ours. They may not even know a language besides English. They often have no idea they’re undocumented until they apply for a job, or college, or a driver’s license.
Over the years, politicians of both parties have worked together to write legislation that would have told these young people – our young people – that if your parents brought you here as a child, if you’ve been here a certain number of years, and if you’re willing to go to college or serve in our military, then you’ll get a chance to stay and earn your citizenship. And for years while I was President, I asked Congress to send me such a bill.
That bill never came. And because it made no sense to expel talented, driven, patriotic young people from the only country they know solely because of the actions of their parents, my administration acted to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people, so that they could continue to contribute to our communities and our country. We did so based on the well-established legal principle of prosecutorial discretion, deployed by Democratic and Republican presidents alike, because our immigration enforcement agencies have limited resources, and it makes sense to focus those resources on those who come illegally to this country to do us harm. Deportations of criminals went up. Some 800,000 young people stepped forward, met rigorous requirements, and went through background checks. And America grew stronger as a result.
But today, that shadow has been cast over some of our best and brightest young people once again. To target these young people is wrong – because they have done nothing wrong. It is self-defeating – because they want to start new businesses, staff our labs, serve in our military, and otherwise contribute to the country we love. And it is cruel. What if our kid’s science teacher, or our friendly neighbor turns out to be a Dreamer? Where are we supposed to send her? To a country she doesn’t know or remember, with a language she may not even speak?
Let’s be clear: the action taken today isn’t required legally. It’s a political decision, and a moral question. Whatever concerns or complaints Americans may have about immigration in general, we shouldn’t threaten the future of this group of young people who are here through no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking away anything from the rest of us. They are that pitcher on our kid’s softball team, that first responder who helps out his community after a disaster, that cadet in ROTC who wants nothing more than to wear the uniform of the country that gave him a chance. Kicking them out won’t lower the unemployment rate, or lighten anyone’s taxes, or raise anybody’s wages.
It is precisely because this action is contrary to our spirit, and to common sense, that business leaders, faith leaders, economists, and Americans of all political stripes called on the administration not to do what it did today. And now that the White House has shifted its responsibility for these young people to Congress, it’s up to Members of Congress to protect these young people and our future. I’m heartened by those who’ve suggested that they should. And I join my voice with the majority of Americans who hope they step up and do it with a sense of moral urgency that matches the urgency these young people feel.
Ultimately, this is about basic decency. This is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated. It’s about who we are as a people – and who we want to be.
What makes us American is not a question of what we look like, or where our names come from, or the way we pray. What makes us American is our fidelity to a set of ideals – that all of us are created equal; that all of us deserve the chance to make of our lives what we will; that all of us share an obligation to stand up, speak out, and secure our most cherished values for the next generation. That’s how America has traveled this far. That’s how, if we keep at it, we will ultimately reach that more perfect union.
Aide to Gov. Jerry Brown calls Trump’s DACA decision ‘senseless and cruel’
A top aide to Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday blasted the Trump administration’s decision to end protections for children who were brought to the country illegally by their parents.
The aide, Nancy McFadden, called the move “senseless and cruel.”
“California has its eyes on Congress to do what it should have done years ago, but we cannot bank on that,” she said in a statement. “So the governor stands with Attorney General [Xavier] Becerra as he takes our fight to court to defend the Dreamers.”
UC’s top expert on immigration law urges DACA students to stay calm
The University of California’s chief immigration legal expert urged students who have received government reprieves from deportation to stay calm in the face of President Trump’s announcement Tuesday that he plans to phase out DACA protections.
Maria Blanco, who heads the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center, said a major lobbying campaign will try to push Congress to extend the protections to nearly 800,000 young immigrants who were brought to the country illegally or fell out of legal status. Under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, deportation proceedings have been suspended against young immigrants brought to the country before age 16 who stayed in school and out of trouble. The young people also have been allowed to obtain work permits.
“We have a very good shot at legislation in Congress and making that happen right away,” Blanco said. “Students shouldn’t do anything like quit school or their jobs.
“If you have DACA rights now, you still have them today. That’s the most important thing,” she said.
California Treasurer John Chiang calls Trump a ‘coward’ for handling of DACA decision
California Treasurer John Chiang, one of the Democrats running for California governor, called President Trump a “coward” for the way he handled his announcement to rescind the DACA program.
Chiang, in a tweet, criticized the president for having U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders announce and explain the decision instead of doing it himself.
Mexico greets Trump’s DACA decision with ‘profound regret’
The Mexican government on Tuesday expressed its “profound regret” following the Trump administration’s decision to end the DACA program that shielded hundreds of thousands of young men and women living in the United States from deportation.
The great majority of the estimated 800,000 “Dreamers” are Mexican nationals who were brought to the United States as minors.
Mexico will welcome “with open arms” those DACA beneficiaries who return to Mexico, the Mexican Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
While acknowledging that U.S. immigration policy is “exclusively” determined in the United States, the Foreign Ministry noted that “our country cannot ignore the fact that there are thousands of young people born in Mexico who may be affected by the decision announced today.”
The Mexican government called on U.S. authorities “to find a quick resolution to the legal uncertainty that as of today confronts the young DACA” beneficiaries.
Geronimo Gutierrez, the Mexican ambassador to Washington, has sent letters to U.S. senators and congressional representatives “highlighting the value of the young DACA” recipients and urging a resolution that “brings them legal certainty,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Making use of its 50 consulates in the United States, Mexico vowed to “re-double its efforts to guarantee the broadest consular protection” to those affected.
“Mexico will receive with open arms the young Dreamers who return to Mexico,” the Foreign Ministry said, outlining various aid initiatives “to integrate them completely in the society and national economy.”
On Saturday, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto had addressed DACA and Dreamers during his annual State of the Union address. “To all of you, young Dreamers, our great recognition, admiration and solidarity without reservations,” he said.
L.A.-area protests planned in support of DACA
After President Trump announced he was planning to end DACA, activists mobilized to march in support of it. These are the planned protests for Tuesday in the L.A. area:
Santa Clarita
11 a.m.
Office of Congressman Knight - 26415 Carl Boyer Drive Santa Clarita, CA 91350
Los Angeles
11:30 a.m.
L.A. City Hall – 231 N. Spring St. Los Angeles, CA 90012
March from City Hall West Steps to the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles.
5 p.m.
Placita Olvera – 535 N. Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90009
Gathering, followed by a march to the Federal Building.
California Republican whose congressional district has large Latino population pushes for legislative fix to DACA
Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) said Tuesday that Congress must address the hundreds of thousands of people brought to the country illegally before they lose federal deportation protections in spring.
Valadao’s Central Valley congressional district is more than 75% Latino, the highest minority percentage of any of California’s 14 Republican districts. He urged President Trump not to rescind DACA, and when rumors began last week that the president would end the program, Valadao asked House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to let the House vote on some of the legislation that’s been proposed to address the Dreamers’ legal status.
“For years, Congress has failed to repair our broken immigration system. However, in light of the president’s announcement, Congress must come together within the next six months to reach a legislative solution,” Valadao said in a statement. “I will continue to advocate on behalf of Dreamers. America is the only home these young people know and I will do everything in my power to ensure those who were brought to the United States through no fault of their own are not unjustly punished.”
Valadao’s largely agricultural district has repeatedly been targeted by Democrats. Valadao was reelected with 56.7% of the vote in 2016, but the district picked Hillary Clinton for president with 54.7% of the vote.
Two other vulnerable California Republicans have spoken in favor of a legislative fix, but the state’s other Republicans have not commented publicly.
Speaker Ryan has ‘hope’ Congress can protect ‘Dreamers,’ but few other Republicans join Democratic pledge to fix DACA
Congressional reaction was swift, if lopsided, to President Trump’s decision to phase out the Dreamer program.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan became one of just a handful of Republicans to join Democrats in calling for a quick legislative fix to protect 800,000 young immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children but will lose protections next year — unless Congress acts.
Ryan’s hope that Congress could pass a replacement for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program appeared tentative at best, given an already challenging legislative agenda and few other leading Republicans willing to step up for those affected by Trump’s decision Tuesday to end the program next March.
“It is my hope that the House and Senate, with the president’s leadership, will be able to find consensus on a permanent legislative solution that includes ensuring that those who have done nothing wrong can still contribute as a valued part of this great country,” said Ryan (R-Wis.).
Congress has shown it is increasingly unable to handle big legislative issues, and immigration has been among the most contentious despite strong support for DACA recipients from corporate executives at Apple, GM and Starbucks, religious leaders and the public.
Congress has tried, and failed, for more than a decade to enact immigration reforms, including a sweeping overhaul that passed the Senate with bipartisan support in 2013 — only to die in the House when Republicans there ignored it.
Democrats pledged Tuesday to try to help the Dreamers who could face deportation under Trump’s action. Dreamers applied for protection from deportation by providing the federal government with their names, addresses and other information, and officials insisted they would not be penalized for doing so.
Democrats want to pass the so-called Dream Act, a failed 2010 bill that would allow the young immigrants to stay in the United States if they were working, in school or the military, or other measures being floated that would protect the Dreamers.
“The human & economic toll of rescinding #DACA will be far reaching,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) tweeted. “Dems will do all we can to prevent @POTUS’ order from becoming reality.”
But so far, few Republicans — aside from a handful in California, Florida, Arizona and other states with large immigrant populations — are willing to publicly join in supporting Dreamers.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) a leader of the 2013 effort, tweeted: “.@POTUS‘s decision on #DACA is wrong approach at a time when both sides need to compromise on #immigration reform.”
Many other Republicans believed the Obama-era DACA was unlawful, because it was created by executive action rather than in Congress, and they are quietly — or, in some cases, vocally — welcoming Trump’s move, even as they criticize the White House for not going far enough to immediately end the program.
“Former #DACA‘s will make great “Peace Corp” volunteers in home countries,” tweeted Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who once complained Dreamers had calves the size of cantaloupes after hauling drugs over the border with Mexico. “None would take more hardship or risk than we ask of Peace Corp.”
Now, some top Republicans see an opening to extract Trump’s other immigration priorities for building a wall along the border with Mexico or limiting legal arrivals, positioning the young Dreamers as bargaining chips in a broader compromise.
For example, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) wants Congress to also consider his bill, the RAISE Act, which would curtail legal immigration, if it is to help Dreamers.
“We have to do something to stop chain migration,” Cotton said Tuesday on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, referring to the ability for some legal immigrants to apply, often with years-long waiting lists, to bring family members to the United States. “I’m not going to support just a blanket amnesty.”
Other lawmakers, though, are mindful of using the immigrants — many of whom have compelling personal stories of excelling in the United States — for political gain, wary of what is certain to be a prolonged legislative battle that will probably spill into the 2018 mid-term election season.
On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois will hold a Tuesday afternoon press conference to revive support for their bill, the Bridge Act, which would give DACA recipients a five-year extension of their work permits and permission to stay in the United States while Congress considers other reforms.
‘Dreamers,’ find help and guidance here
As confusion swirls about the future for DACA beneficiaries, local school districts and colleges are reiterating their support for DACA students. Here are websites and links for Dreamers looking for legal resources:
- We are one L.A. Unified: Standing with immigrant families: Los Angeles Unified School District has published immigration guides in both Spanish and English, directing families to many low-cost legal resources and attorneys around L.A.
- The University of California Immigrant Legal Services Center, based in UC Davis, offers legal representation and advice.
- University of California Undocumented Student Services: Individual UC campuses also have resource teams and programs for students who came into the country without legal permission, listed on this page.
- The California State University system lists campus-based support resources for students and employees as well as legal support services throughout California, by county.
Times reporter Rosanna Xia contributed to this post.
Gavin Newsom says Trump’s decision to phase out protection for DACA participants shows the president ‘has no soul’
California gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom called President Trump’s decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program “cruel and pointless” and urged Congress to act in a series of tweets Tuesday morning.
‘Trump’s cruelty knows no bounds’: Civil rights groups denounce DACA decision
Civil liberties groups denounced President Trump’s decision Tuesday to phase out DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
“After equating neo-Nazis with anti-racist protesters and pardoning Joe Arpaio, we didn’t need any more proof of the malignant bigotry at the heart of President Trump’s agenda,” said Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization based in Montgomery, Ala.
“Many, perhaps most, of these young people know no other home. They’re Americans. Now, to appease his white nationalist supporters, he wants to throw them out of their country,” he continued. “Trump’s cruelty knows no bounds.”
The DACA program protected from deportation at least 800,000 people brought into the country illegally as children. The White House decision to phase out the program means the future for many of these people, also known as Dreamers, is now in limbo.
“Today is a cruel day for Dreamers, our families and all Americans,” said Lorella Praeli, director of immigration policy and campaigns at the American Civil Liberties Union. “There is no humane way to end DACA before having a permanent legislative fix in place. We’ll hold President Trump accountable and others who have made today a dark day in our nation’s history”
Antonio Villaraigosa slams Trump decision to phase out DACA as ‘arguably racist,’ urges Congress to act
California gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa called President Trump’s decision on Tuesday to phase out the DACA program as “arguably racist” and urged Congress to act to allow young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to continue to live and work in the country legally.
“This is a test of our nation’s true values – a test we simply cannot fail,” the former mayor of Los Angeles said in a statement.
Villaraigosa has been urging supporters to sign an online petition, contact their representatives in Congress and donate to groups that are trying to protect young people who currently have DACA protections, also known as Dreamers.
“Dreamers have learned in our schools and served in our military. They are our neighbors, work in our businesses, and many start the businesses where we work,” Villaraigosa said. “They are a vital part of our communities, and we cannot stand by while they are put at risk of deportation because of a reckless, and arguably racist, decision by Donald Trump.”
California schools chief calls DACA move ‘mean-spirited’
California’s top education official denounced President Trump’s decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
“Our country made an honest deal with these students — study hard, earn your degree and you will get a fair chance to compete for college,” state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said in a statement. “We should keep deals, not break them.”
The fate of ‘Dreamers’ resonates in Mexico
The fate of the so-called Dreamers has resonated deeply in Mexico, the birthplace of the majority of the estimated 800,000 immigrants who have benefited from the Obama administration program.
Many were brought to the United States as minors by parents or relatives during a boom in illegal immigration before enhanced enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border slowed the illicit movement of Mexican nationals into the United States.
In his State of the Union address on Saturday, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto made an unusual reference to the recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.
Speaking from the National Palace in Mexico City, the Mexican president declared: “I send affectionate greetings to the young beneficiaries of the administrative measure that protects those who arrived as infants to the United States. To all of you, young dreamers, our great recognition, admiration and solidarity without reservations.”
Mexico has rejected the Trump administration’s insistence that it will pay for a new, multibillion-dollar wall on the U.S. side of the border. The Mexican government, which has a network of 50 consulates in the United States, has said it will do what it can to assist those facing deportation under the Trump administration’s get-tough policies.
But critics in Mexico have long assailed the Mexican government for not doing enough to help deportees and others trying to adjust to life in Mexico after living for years in the United States.
DACA students have earned a right to ‘a permanent place,’ says L.A. schools Supt. Michelle King
Leaders of the Los Angeles Unified School District doubled down on their support for immigrant students after the Trump administration announced Tuesday that it would phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program known as DACA.
“I am concerned by this decision and its long-term impacts on the students, families and employees of L.A. Unified,” Supt. Michelle King said in a statement. “These young immigrants have made valuable contributions to the community and the nation they consider their home, and they have earned the right to a permanent place in its history.”
California’s members of Congress react to Trump’s DACA decision
Few Republicans in the California congressional delegation jumped to comment on the Trump administration’s announcement Tuesday that it will phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program unless Congress acts on the matter.
More than a fourth of the estimated 800,000 DACA recipients, or “Dreamers,” are thought to live in California, and some of the most vulnerable Republican congressional members in the state represent areas with large minority or migrant populations.
Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) said Sunday on Facebook that the status of people brought to the country illegally as children needs congressional input.
“Their status deserves a thorough and thoughtful review. While the program may be ending, it should still receive attention by Congress. I encourage my colleagues to take the opportunity to now review this policy closely to see the impact this decision will have on the affected children,” he said.
Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) told NPR’s “Morning Edition” Tuesday that protecting people brought to the country as children could be a way to bring Congress together. Denham and Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) have urged President Trump not to end the program, and asked House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) to allow some of the bills that would address the Dreamers’ legal status to move forward
“There is a bipartisan solution here, the real issue is Congress has to do its job,” Denham said. “Congress should not need six months, this should be something that moves very quickly that is very bipartisan.”
The 39 Democrats in the California delegation took to social media quickly to say they will push for Congress to act quickly to come up with a legislative fix.
Scenes from the ‘Dreamers’ protest outside the White House
California state leaders call decision to rescind DACA ‘callous’ and ‘cowardly’
California state leaders Tuesday denounced the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, calling it “callous” and “cowardly.”
President Trump’s decision to end the program, which grants protections for immigrants brought into the country illegally as children, affects more than 800,000 nationwide, a quarter of whom are in California.
Watch Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions announce the end of the protection program for ‘Dreamers’
Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday that the Trump administration would move to end the DACA program, which currently shields nearly 800,000 young people from deportation.
We are people of compassion, and we are people of law. But there is nothing compassionate about the failure to enforce immigration laws. Enforcing the law saves lives, protects communities and taxpayers and prevents human suffering.
UC President Napolitano calls DACA decision ‘backward-thinking’
University of California President Janet Napolitano blasted President Trump’s decision to end a program that deferred deportation for 800,000 young immigrants and urged Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to protect them.
“This backward-thinking, far-reaching move threatens to separate families and derail the futures of some of this country’s brightest young minds, thousands of whom currently attend or have graduated from the University of California,” she said in a statement.
Napolitano, who crafted the original Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy when she was U.S. Homeland Security secretary in the Obama administration, said the 10-campus UC system would continue to offer services for students who are in the country illegally. About 4,000 such students — also known as Dreamers — attend UC schools, with the largest number at UCLA and UC Irvine.
Educational services for such students include:
- In-state tuition for California residents who are Dreamers
- A loan program for financial aid
- Free legal services to students who are in the country without legal permission
- Campus-based student service centers
Napolitano last fall directed campus police not to contact, detain, question or arrest individuals based on suspected immigration status, or to enter agreements to undertake joint efforts to make arrests for federal immigration law violations.
“The University of California will continue to stand with Dreamers and their supporters as we fight to keep the program alive,” she said.
California lawmaker compares Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions to ‘racist southern sheriffs’ after DACA announcement
California lawmakers are vowing to step in and help Dreamers after Trump moves to cancel the program
President Trump’s decision to abandon existing protections for young men and women in the United States without legal status will likely draw a sharp rebuke from Gov. Jerry Brown and an assortment of California elected officials, all of whom have vowed to take extraordinary measures to keep those immigrants from being deported.
California state lawmakers react to President Trump’s decision to phase out DACA
As State Senator representing the Inland Empire and the state with the most Dreamers, I find it appalling that President Trump would take this misguided action on DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). These young people enrich our local communities, strengthen our country and are a reflection of the values that make America great. To shut the door of the country they call home in their face is not only wrong—it is inhumane and contrary to who we are as Americans. I will fight alongside our federal and state representatives in the weeks and months ahead to ensure that Dreamers are able to continue living, working, studying and making a life for themselves and their families in the United States.
— State Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino)
DACA decision could be major factor in districts represented by vulnerable California Republicans
Now that President Trump is putting what should happen to the “Dreamers” on Congress’ agenda, vulnerable Republicans will be squarely at the center of the debate.
The Trump administration’s announcement Tuesday about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program could have a broad effect on Democratic efforts to retake control of the House in 2018, and nowhere more so than in California, where more than a fourth of the estimated 800,000 recipients, often called Dreamers, are thought to live.
To secure the 24 seats they need, Democrats are specifically targeting nine of the Golden State’s 14 Republican members of Congress, several of whom represent districts with large minority populations. Stories of the 200,000 or so Californians affected by this decision likely will be a recurring theme of campaigns for the next year.
Nearly all of the targeted Republicans have opposed DACA, which delayed deportation for hundreds of thousands of Californians in the country illegally. Just two of the GOP lawmakers with districts that could flip in the midterms have publicly tried to persuade the president to leave DACA in place.
Trump asks Congress to resolve fate of ‘Dreamers,’ moves to phase out protections
Young people currently shielded from deportation and allowed to work legally under the DACA program will begin losing their protection in March unless Congress acts before then, the Trump administration announced Tuesday.
In the meantime, the administration will continue to renew two-year work permits as they expire but will stop accepting new applications for the program.
Watch live: DACA protesters gather in front of the White House
Read the letter 10 states sent to Atty. Gen. Sessions in support of ending DACA
What is DACA?
In an attempt to make good on his campaign promise, the Trump administration moved to phase out protections for DACA unless Congress acts on a plan. What is the program, and what does it take to be eligible?
An interview with a DACA recipient
Instead of clear policy, thousands of DACA recipients have faced mixed messages, contradictory leaks and a lack of clarity about their future. Here’s one, Melody Klingenfuss, who earned a master’s degree from USC and is now an immigrant and youth organizer with Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights Los Angeles. She spoke to The Times in July.
DACA recipient Melody Klingenfuss, a 23-year-old who lives in North Hills, feels like her immigration relief is under threat. Klingenfuss came to the U.S. on a tourist visa when she was 9.
Trump’s DACA decision hits home for some members of Congress
After President Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2012, a cousin approached Nanette Barragán and asked her if it was safe to apply.
Barragán remembers telling the young woman, “When the government tells you that your information is not going to be used against you, you take the government at their word.”
Her answer to that relative five years ago weighs heavily on the freshman congresswoman today as the nation awaits President Trump’s decision on whether he’ll allow the program to continue.
Before the message was: If you are good, if you are under the radar, you are paying your taxes … if you are a good person, they are not going to come after you. Who would have imagined that you would have Donald Trump be the president.
— Congresswoman Nanette Barragán
For a handful of this state’s members of Congress, there is an added personal connection to the flood of terrified calls and emails from constituents worried about what’s to come.
Dozens of tech leaders call on Trump to keep DACA
Dozens of tech industry leaders have signed a letter expressing concern about reports that President Trump is considering ending a program that protected from deportation more than 750,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
The open letter, released Thursday by tech industry advocacy group FWD.us, includes heavyweights such as Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook, Facebook Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, Amazon.com Inc.’s Jeff Bezos, Google Inc.’s Sundar Pichai and Snap Inc.’s Evan Spiegel among its signatories.
Editorial: Trump ending DACA would shatter the dreams of hundreds of thousands of people who could do us much good
Yes, illegal immigration is a problem; yes, the United States has the right to control who comes in and out of the country; yes, there are people in the U.S. who ought to be deported. But telling people who were raised here and educated here (thanks to decisions made by their elders) and whose dreams are rooted here that that they are no longer welcome — well, that would be an inhumane act.
— The Times Editorial Board
Here’s what Trump has previously said about DACA
Donald Trump has given wildly divergent statements about the DACA program.