Congress failed in 2010 to protect Dreamers, but with a Republican president saying he supports the cause, we hope it will be different
Nowhere more than in California does President Trump’s abandonment of the Dreamers strike fear and anger in the hearts of those struggling to defend the young people brought to America as children.
DACA, the 2010 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals executive order by President Barack Obama, gave kids brought here under age 16 the right to legally work, go to college, and often both without fear of sudden deportation.
President Donald Trump issued DACA’s death sentence Monday — but he left room for a reprieve: He gave Congress six months to “do their job” and pass a law protecting these young people, whom, he proclaimed, “we love.”
So. We’ re back where we started. But there is a glimmer of hope.
Obama ordered DACA when it was clear that the Dream Act, accomplishing essentially the same thing, would not pass the Republican majority Congress. But this was a time when making Obama fail was GOP leaders’ stated intention, not doing the right thing.
Trump’s victory was based at least in part on a pledge of mass deportation, including the DACA recipients. But some Republicans — and Trump himself — since have become queasy about targeting young people who are here through no fault of their own.
Traditional Republicans also may be moved by the massive outpouring by American businesses on behalf of the Dreamers.
Microsoft on Tuesday declared restoring DACA a higher priority than tax reform, joining Apple and many other tech companies in support of the program. And it’s not just tech. AT&T, car manufacturers and other industries have joined the fray. Some that had kept their heads down since January stood up and stood strong.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions was wrong Tuesday when he proclaimed DACA participants were taking jobs from citizens. Business leaders made that clear. This should move leaders of the GOP, once the party of business.
Some reactions to Monday’s announcement were admirable and predictable: Santa Clara County Supervisors Dave Cortese and Cindy Chavez, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and members of Congress across the Bay Area vowed to fight for the Dreamers.
But conservative Republican Rep. Jeff Denham of Modesto also was eloquent. In a statement Tuesday, he said:
“The government asked these young men and women to come out of the shadows, and they have passed background checks, opened bank accounts, enrolled in our universities — all positive contributions to our society and our economy. To target them now is wrong.”
Perhaps more important, Speaker Paul Ryan had urged Trump not to abruptly end DACA. This from his statement Tuesday: “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….”
Democrats will be on board. It’s up to Republican lawmakers to see that — in Ryan’s words — “those who have done nothing wrong and can still contribute as a valued part of this great country.”
