Congress Action on DACA Urged

The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) is waging a nationwide campaign in the 115th U.S. Congress to protect recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Approximately 800,000 recipients, including 16,000 Asian Americans, face deportation if DACA is eventually phased out.

“NCAPA and its 34 coalition members are actively lobbying members of Congress to push through a permanent measure that would grant the DACA recipients or the Dreamers legal status, and possibly a path to citizenship,” community advocate Jon Melegrito said in an email interview on May 3.

“Other national groups, such as the Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), are also engaged in the national effort,” he said. Melegrito is a former communications director of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), a member of the NCAPA coalition.

Under the 2012 Executive Order signed by President Obama, the DACA program grants qualified applicants two-year, renewable permits to work and study in the U.S. so they can become productive members of society. DACA recipients were brought to the U.S. without legal authorization when they were children.President Trump rescinded DACA on September 5, 2017.

DACA’s Fate

Currently, DACA’s fate is uncertain due to lawsuits challenging the Trump administration order to end it last March 5. Melegrito and other Asian American advocates say a judicial solution (a decision by federal courts, or as expected, by the Supreme Court) is a lengthy process.

They prefer DACA to be extended through legislation. Political experts say this is unlikely. They cite as reasons the deeply divided positions of Republican and Democratic lawmakers on immigration, and a busy agenda in a shortened legislative schedule. Senators and House Members are raring to leave town, so they can campaign for the midterm elections on November 6.

Advocates refuse to give up, however. They cite surveys that consistently show most Americans, regardless of party, favor extending DACA. In September last year, ABC News reported that “a vast 86 percent of Americans support a right to residency for Dreamers.” On February 28 this year, a CNN poll showed 8 in 10 Americans support continuing the DACA program and this support “remains high and bipartisan.”

 “NCAPA and our member organizations continue to engage with Congress to find a path forward for DACA,” NCAPA National Director Gregg Orton said in an email on May 6. “We are closely monitoring potential legislative opportunities to find a solution to aid the hundreds of thousands of AAPIs who benefit from DACA.”

He added: “We believe that it is imperative that the immigration debate narrative continue to be inclusive of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders or AAPIs, as our communities are impacted by the decisions of the Trump Administration every day. And while it is unfortunate that the Administration has the power to save DACA and chooses not to, we will continue to fight to secure a future for all DACA recipients and protect the family immigration system.”

“The Dream Act of 2017” was introduced in July last year by Senator Lindsey Graham (R, South Carolina) and supported by top Senate Democrats, Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (New York) and Dick J. Durbin (Illinois).  The bill has gotten nowhere in the 115th (2017-2018) U.S. Congress. For many Republicans, who view the legislation as rewarding law breakers to the detriment of legal immigrants, granting residency or a path to citizenship is out of the question.

Early in his presidency, Trump was inclined to solve the DACA issue, he said, “with heart,” but his base of supporters is against it. Recently, he floated the idea of legislation to cover all 2 million Dreamers, in exchange for Democrats voting for funding for his border wall, determined to fulfill a major campaign promise. Republican lawmakers shot down the idea of expanding coverage to all 2 million Dreamers.

Dream Act

In September last year, when President Trump rescinded DACA and prodded Congress to address the issue, NCAPA reaffirmed its “commitment to fight for communities hurt by this decision.” It also led the appeal to Congress “to act quickly to pass the bipartisan Dream Act of 2017.” The U.S. Senate has not taken up the bill.

The DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act seeks to grant conditional residency status and eventually, permanent residency to DACA recipients – and others who entered the country as children without legal authorization. The bill sets certain requirements, including no felony convictions, payment of fines, and learning the language, among other things.

With legislation at a standstill, DACA solution through the judiciary system marches on. District court judges in San Francisco, New York and D.C. had ruled that the Trump administration should accept renewals from DACA recipients. On April 24, another judge ruled that if the Department of Homeland Security does not provide, within 90 days, a better explanation for the DACA rescission, the entire DACA program would be restored.

The ruling does not change the Department of Justice (DOJ) position on the facts, DOJ spokesman Devin O’Malley said, according to a Politico news report. The story quoted O’Malley, who pointed out: “DACA was implemented unilaterally after Congress declined to extend benefits to this same group of illegal aliens. As such, it was an unlawful circumvention of Congress.”

Last May 1, Texas and six other states filed a lawsuit in federal court to declare DACA unconstitutional. They argued that DACA is an overreach of the authority of the Executive Branch of the government, according to a story in Politico.

The other states are Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia, Politico reported. The suit noted the seven states were amenable to a solution:  For the Trump administration to stop accepting new applicants or renewing the DACA permits – effectively ending the program.