Ted S. Warren / AP
On the fifth anniversary of President Obama’s program to shield undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children from deportation, beneficiaries are worried the new administration is slowly scaling it back.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, created by executive order in 2012, allows undocumented immigrants to study and work in the US for two years, at which point they can apply for renewal.
Despite pledging to get rid of the program during the campaign, President Trump has said DACA recipients — also known as DREAMers — should “rest easy.” Still, recent cases of undocumented minors being denied DACA, detained, or deported are fueling widespread concern that the program is being eroded for the roughly 788,000 undocumented immigrants have received DACA since its inception.
Jessica Colotl.
John Amis / AP
In the most recent high profile case, Jessica Colotl was denied her DACA renewal by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) despite having been afforded the protection twice before. Her lawyers fought back, and this week, a federal court granted a preliminary injunction ordering the federal government to reinstate Colotl's DACA and take a second look at her application.
“I’m excited we were able to win because there are too many DREAMers out there who were told we weren’t going to be targeted by the new administration, yet we continue to see otherwise,” Colotl told BuzzFeed News. “The DACA program is being tested.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had argued in court that it has the discretion to revoke deferred action status unilaterally.
“That sends a very troubling and disturbing message about how meaningful DACA is and whether DREAMers can in fact 'rest easy' as the president said when it comes to the DACA program,” Michael Tan, a staff attorney with the ACLU, which represented Colotl, said. “We’re getting mixed messages from the administration.”
USCIS said it would issue a statement on the case after fully reviewing the court order.
Part of the issue could stem from Colotl being caught driving without a license in 2010 by school police at Kennesaw State University. Shortly after, Colotl was charged with a felony for allegedly lying about her address during her arrest. But Colotl pleaded guilty as part of an agreement to keep the felony off her record, which would have made her ineligible for the program.
The DHS also said in a court filing that Colotl’s plea under a pre-trial agreement was not a conviction for immigration purposes that could result in her being disqualified for DACA.
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.
Aaron P. Bernstein / Reuters
Still, according to transcripts from Colotl’s case, attorneys for the government said USCIS could terminate her DACA based on a memo from Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly in February, which expanded the pool of undocumented immigrants who could be deported. However, they never specified how that affected Colotl.
Lorella Praeli, ACLU director of immigration policy and campaigns, said Colotl’s case sheds light on the inconsistencies and contradictory statements from Kelly, who says DACA recipients are not a priority for deportation, and what attorneys for federal agencies have said in court.
“Either he’s intentionally lying, or this is a broad pattern of empowerment and letting his agents run wild,” Praeli told BuzzFeed News. “It raises serious concerns because young people have come forward and given their information to the government."
Adding to the fear from undocumented immigrants, the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Thomas Homan, told a congressional committee on Tuesday that all undocumented immigrants in the US "should be uncomfortable" and "looking over (their) shoulder" when it comes to who could be deported.
Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Stephen Lam / Reuters
Meanwhile, even under the Trump administration, the DACA program has continued granting protections by the thousands.
From January to March, about 124,800 applications for DACA were approved, according to a recently released report from USCIS. Of those, about 17,300 were for new DACA recipients and 107,500 were renewals.
“Instead of building upon [DACA’s] success, the Trump team is separating our families,” Greisa Martinez, advocacy director at the United We Dream Network, said in a statement. “Trump administration officials are working to erode and weaken DACA, from revoking work permits to appointing anti-immigrant officials to oversee the DACA program."
Colotl, who returned to her job as a paralegal this week, said USCIS needs to be more transparent and clear about how it processes DACA applications.
“People are definitely concerned and alarmed as to what can happen, but we can’t let fear intimidate us,” Colotl said. “As DREAMers we grew up in this country and this is the only place we call come. We don’t want anything else but to contribute to our country.”
LINK: ICE Chief Says Undocumented Immigrants "Should Be Worried" And Looking Over Their Shoulder
LINK: A DREAMER Says He Was "Forced Out" Of US Within Hours Of Being Arrested
LINK: A DREAMer Was Arrested During A Raid And Now Immigration Officials Have Been Ordered To Explain Why
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2trTVzk
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