Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden slammed Donald Trump’s latest attack on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and its beneficiaries, calling the administration’s announcement that it will refuse to accept new applicants and slash protections for current and former enrollees “another cruel step in its misguided crusade” to end the popular and successful program.
“President Trump will stop at nothing to push his anti-immigrant political agenda,” Biden said, “even at the expense of young people who have grown up in this country and are Americans through and through.”
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) memo on Tuesday, signed by unconfirmed Sec. Chad Wolf, made official that the Trump administration is defying both the Supreme Court and a lower court order to fully reopen the DACA program as it was before the impeached president started his attacks against it in 2017.
That includes reopening DACA to as many as 300,000 young immigrants who have never been enrolled before. Instead, this lawless administration is defying court orders and not only refusing to accept and approve their applications, but also trying to make it easier to deport beneficiaries by slashing their protections from two years to just one year. Immigrant rights advocacy group America’s Voice called the memo “a death knell for DACA.”
In his statement, Biden slammed the administration’s continued attacks even as an estimated 30,000 DACA recipients are essential workers who “are risking their lives to keep us safe and healthy” amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. He continued to pledge to take action to protect them and their families as president.
”As President, I will protect Dreamers and their families and offer a roadmap to citizenship for Dreamers and all 11 million undocumented immigrants enriching our country, so they no longer have to live in fear and uncertainty,” he said. “In a Biden administration, Dreamers can make plans to prosper and thrive here in America—right where they belong.” In a previous statement on the eighth anniversary of DACA last month, Biden recommitted to using “the full extent” of his executive powers to protect young immigrants as he works on permanent legislation.
As America’s Voice also noted, ”[y]esterday’s memo ensured that the fate of DACA and Dreamers in this country will be on the ballot in November.
“This should be troubling news for Republicans given that in poll after poll, four-fifths of the country and a majority of Republicans support Dreamers and DACA,” the organization said. “This seems to have only increased as the American people look around and see that immigrants, including DACA recipients, are serving in essential roles to help America through the health and economic crises we face.”
“This November, voters must reject the politics that play with the lives of immigrant young people and jeopardize public health to divide families and rip apart communities,” Biden said.