DACA

Raising Up Black Immigrants In The DACA Debate

September 9, 2017 Sarah Anderson, www.inequality.org Resist! Black People, DACA, Immigration, Undocumented

By Sarah Anderson for Inequality - By canceling a program that grants work permits and deportation protection for undocumented immigrants, the Trump administration has upended the lives of roughly 800,000 young people who came to the United States as children. Mexicans make up the vast majority of these Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program recipients. But thousands of young black immigrants also stand to lose their protected status — and the challenges they face are often overlooked in the immigration debate. The Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) has been working since 2006 to shine a spotlight on the black undocumented population and to fight the structural racism that sucks them into the criminal justice system in disproportionate numbers. According to BAJI, black immigrants make up just 5 percent of the overall immigrant population, but 21 percent of those who are deported as a result of criminal contact. This level of racial targeting gives young black undocumented immigrants particular cause for concern about their insecure status. BAJI estimates that 12,000 DACA recipients are black. The three top countries of origin: Jamaica (5,302 approved applicants), Trinidad and Tobago (4,077 approved), and Nigeria (2,095 approved).

Ending DACA Would Be Cruel And Senseless

September 7, 2017 Jesse Mechanic, www.huffingtonpost.com Educate! DACA, Immigration, Trump Administration, Undocumented

By Jesse Mechanic for The Huffington Post - President Trump has unofficially set forth plans to dismantle the Consideration for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). According to reports, he plans to let congress hash out the details over the next six months. There is a fair amount of bipartisan support for DACA and numerous legal challenges are locked and loaded, so fully erasing the law will not be easy. This article is based solely on the intention of destroying DACA and what that intention represents. Ending the program would be heartless and myopic. There seems to be a lot of misinformation swirling about on DACA, so let’s first go over the basics: DACA was implemented through executive order by the Obama administration in 2012. The law grants deferred action (protection from deportation) for people who were brought to the United States illegally as children. Being granted deferred action does not provide legal status or future amnesty. DACA recipients (DREAMers) must apply for renewal of deferred action status every two years.

Ending DACA Lowers Wages And Taxes, Degrades Labor Standards

September 7, 2017 Daniel Costa, www.epi.org Educate! DACA, Immigration, Labor, Undocumented

By Daniel Costa for Economic Policy Institute - Tuesday morning Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump administration will “wind down,” and in six months, end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a Department of Homeland Security initiative put in place in 2012 that temporarily deferred the deportation of approximately 800,000 young immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. DACA has been an unqualified success and has benefited not only the DACA recipients themselves, but also the country and the economy. The young immigrants who met the requirements and passed the necessary background checks for DACA were promised by the federal government that they would not be removed from the United States for two years at a time, as long as they kept applying to renew, kept a clean criminal record, and were either enrolled in school or graduated, or serving in the military or honorably discharged. Because of these requirements, we know that nearly all of the recipients are deeply integrated into their local American communities and labor markets. Along with protection from removal, DACA recipients are entitled to receive an employment authorization document (EAD), allowing them to be employed in the United States legally, along with certain other benefits

15 States And The District Of Columbia Challenge Trump Over DACA Decision

September 7, 2017 www.blog.ucsusa.org Resist! Courts, DACA, Donald Trump, Lawsuit

By Emily Wells for Truth Dig - The argument could bear significant weight. Trump made a plethora of comments against Mexican immigrants during the presidential campaign, saying in 2015, “They are not our friend, believe me. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” Trump also notoriously boasted that he would force Mexico to pay for a wall along the Mexican-American border. Nevertheless, the case may have a long road ahead, because the president has the authority to exercise “prosecutorial discretion” when it comes to the enforcement of immigration laws. “I wouldn’t say it’s a long shot, [but] I would say it is challenging, just because of the tradition against reviewing prosecutorial discretion,” Stephen Legomsk, a Washington University law professor and an Obama administration alum, told CNN. Cornell law professor and immigration attorney Steve Yale-Loehr said that “given the general deference that most courts provide to executive branch decisions on immigration, because immigration touches on national security and national sovereignty issues, they’re going to have an uphill battle in court. I wish them well, but as far as I can tell, I think they’ve got a less than 50% chance of winning in court.”

“Treat Us Like Humans”: Emergency Protests Erupt Against DACA Repeal

September 7, 2017 Sarah Jaffe, www.truth-out.org Resist! DACA, Immigration, Protests, Undocumented

By Sarah Jaffe for Truthout - On Tuesday, September 5, the Trump administration announced a "phase-out" of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for immigrant youth. This decision leaves hundreds of thousands of young people vulnerable to deportation -- young people who voluntarily gave the government personal information about themselves in order to gain protections in the first place. Around the country, emergency protest rallies were held. In Kingston, New York, outside of the office of newly elected Republican Congressman John Faso, I spoke with two immigrant organizers about the decision to revoke DACA and the struggle for justice for immigrants. First, I spoke with Alan, an organizer with Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson (Nadie Se Va Del Mid-Hudson). Sarah Jaffe: So, we're outside of Congressman John Faso's office at a rally for DACA right now, Tuesday, September 5. Tell us your story. Alan: I came to this country very young, over two decades ago, my family brought us here. I started kindergarten all the way to high school, everything was working fine, I didn't worry about my status or anything like that, I was young. It wasn't until I was 16, I wanted to get a license just like everyone else -- that's when it hit me. I didn't have papers to show. Then I let that slide. I was like, OK, I can live without that.

Mobilizations Begin To Organize To Protect DACA Immigrants

September 6, 2017 Staff, www.weareheretostay.org Resist! DACA, Immigration, Protests, Undocumented

By Staff of Here To Stay - The DACA program protects 800,000 immigrant youth from deportation and gives them freedom to work and live life. They are in school, and working hard. They are our friends, our classmates, our co-workers and neighbors. It may be yourself. Trump just gave a deadline of March 5th, 2018 for Congress to take action and pass legislation. The administration has ended issuing new DACA applications as of today and will keep handing renewals for people who’s DACA expires before March 5th, 2018. That puts young people and their families in danger – and Donald Trump has the power to keep the program and continue issuing DACA to applicants – we must continue to fight. Republicans in Congress need to decide which side of history they are going to be on. Are they going to protect the 800,000 youth or side with the white supremacists inside and outside the Trump administration? We all have a role to play now to fight back against Trump and this white supremacist agenda to take safety and jobs away from young people of color. We will fight the Trump mass deportation agenda. Immigrant families are beautiful and strong, this is their home and they are #HereToStay!

“Dreamers” Take A Stand For DACA In 24/7 Vigil Outside White House

September 6, 2017 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! DACA, Immigration, Undocumented, Vigil, White House

By John Zangas for DC Media Group - Washington, DC — Supporters of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are conducting a 24-hour vigil outside the White House despite administration plans to scrap the program within 6 months. In spite of President Trump’s intent to make good on a campaign promise to end DACA, a White House memo leaked on Sunday preserved hopes that political pressure can save the program. An Obama Executive Order of 2012 gave legal status to nearly 800,000 children of undocumented immigrant families. Those children, known as “Dreamers,” their advocates and supporters have been circulating a petition and maintaining a vigil outside the White House since August 20 to keep them from being deported. Advocates say that Dreamers should maintain their legal status because they had little say in their parents’ decision to bring them to the U.S. and that canceling the program is like pulling the rug out from under a government promise. It would force participants to live in the shadows, take away their jobs and put them in jeopardy of deportation, the advocates say. Many Dreamers are legally permitted to work with some serving in the U.S. armed forces, while others attend school.

«1 2 »

Daily movement news and resources