More than 140 trade associations and top companies including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Apple, and General Motors are calling on Donald Trump to keep the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in place, following threats to yet again end the program after the Supreme Court’s ruling last month that he unlawfully terminated it in 2017.
“As large American employers and employer organizations, we strongly urge you to leave the DACA program in place,” they write, noting tens of thousands of beneficiaries who are critical in the novel coronavirus pandemic response. “Their work and commitment to our companies, their families and communities are critical to our nation’s strength, especially since there are tens of thousands of DACA recipients working as front line doctors and nurses and in other critical industries fighting COVID19.”
The letter, signed by other companies and organizations including Chobani, Spotify, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, notes the immense bipartisan popularity behind permanently protecting young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
“Moreover, poll after poll has shown that the overwhelming majority of Americans of all political backgrounds agree that we should protect DACA recipients from deportation,” letter continues. “According to Global Strategy Group ... in the twelve 2020 battleground states, Americans support citizenship for Dreamers by 72-19%,” advocacy group America’s Voice noted last week. “This includes strong majorities of Democrats (88-7%), Independents (69-13%) and Republicans (57-33%).”
But Trump hasn’t just threatened to again rescind the program, he’s also defying the Supreme Court’s ruling as of this diary’s publishing date.
“Today, 25 days after the decision, the Supreme Court will certify its judgement in the case, and—under the law—the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will have an unambiguous obligation to fully reinstate DACA,” the Center for American Progress (CAP) said. “As a result, not only must the agency continue processing renewal applications by those who currently hold DACA, but it must also reopen the application process to more than 300,000 new applicants who are eligible under the terms of the program, including 55,500 of the youngest DACA-eligible individuals who have aged into eligibility over the past three years and will now be able to apply for the first time.
“Notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s decision to vacate the administration’s 2017 DACA rescission memorandum, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has taken no public steps to restore DACA to the way it operated pre-rescission,” CAP continued. “Rather, the agency has been silent—with exception of a post-decision statement that opened by questioning the legitimacy of the Supreme Court itself. As of the date of publication, the Trump administration is in open defiance of the law.”
We know what the right to do is as we fight to pass permanent protections in the form of the American Dream and Promise Act: The DACA program must not only stay in place, it must also be fully reopened to thousands of new applicants. But what the administration does—or doesn’t do—in spite of the Supreme Court’s decision is a different matter.
“This is no time to disrupt the economic recovery of our companies and communities, nor time to jeopardize the health and safety of these vulnerable individuals,” the companies and trade organizations continue in their letter. “We ask that you leave DACA in place and refrain from taking any additional administrative actions that would negatively impact the DACA program.”