Trump Keeps DACA, Cancels DAPA
Recently the Trump administration announced that it would be continuing the Obama administration’s policy allowing Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who came to country as young children, to remain in the United States. More specifically, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects nearly 1 million individuals who came to the United States as children from deportation and allows them to legally work. While DACA doesn’t offer a legal immigration status, a path to citizenship and or any permanent protections, it does provide approved immigrants with a valuable work permit good for two years at a time. The protections are revocable at any time if an immigrant commits a felony or becomes a threat to public safety or national security. However, the very same day that this announcement was made, the Trump administration canceled a long-standing policy that would protect undocumented parents of U.S. citizens from deportation.
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly revoked the ‘Deferred Action for Parents of Americans’ (DAPA) program, ensuring the policy will not be enacted in the near-future. This was one of the campaign pledges of Trump, however it contradicts the promise to also eliminate DACA. Trump called DACA unconstitutional and said he would “immediately terminate” it during the campaign. Since taking office, however, Trump has softened his tone on younger undocumented immigrants, with a larger focus on deporting individuals with criminal records. It is important to note that since the program was created by an executive order, Trump retains the power to reverse it, and DHS also announced that it “should not be interpreted as bearing any relevance on the long-term future of that program.”
If you have any questions, please feel free to call Buda Law Group.
Thank You,
John B. Buda, Esq.
www.budalawgroup.net
office: 626-714-7492
john.buda@budalawgroup.net
1201 W. Huntington Dr. Suite 209
Arcadia, CA 91007
