President Trump has announced the end of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program his predecessor initiated by executive order in 2012. About 800,000 “Dreamers” — people brought to the U.S. illegally before they were 16 years old — have work permits through the program that, until now, were renewable in two-year increments. The government will still honor the existing permits, and permits expiring before March 5 can be renewed one last time. But thereafter, permits will start expiring unless Congress passes a law saying otherwise.
The Dreamers will not be summarily rounded up and deported if Trump follows through on terminating the program. (There is considerable doubt he will: Almost immediately after the announcement, the supposed dealmaker undermined his own negotiating position, tweeting that he’d “revisit this issue” if the legislature didn’t act.) But they will find it hard to live normal lives, as they will be legally subject to deportation in the event they come to the authorities’ attention.
Comments