Decision Brings Mixed Reactions And Affects Thousands Living In The U.S.

Bipartisan conflict is nothing new in America.  While conservative Americans fight to preserve our values and traditions, we are still undoing years of damage wrought by former President Obama’s time in office.

And a new battle is brewing — one between upholding the rule of law and helping the young victims of former President Obama’s policy failures — and it is not going to be an easy one for anyone involved.

A decision earlier this week by the Trump administration is meeting with mixed — but highly emotional — reactions by Americans.

The repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program tugs at the heartstrings of American parents who can’t imagine their own children in the same situation.

Many of those who will be affected by the repeal were children when they arrived in the U.S., and many cannot remember a time they lived in their home country.

The terms of the repeal were reported by CNBC:

*The government will not process any new applications or requests for DACA protection.

*People currently protected will not be affected before March 5, “so Congress can have time to deliver on appropriate legislative solutions,” according to Duke.

*Current DACA holders’ protection from deportation and work permits will remain in effect until they expire, at which time they will no longer be shielded. The government will hear all pending applications for DACA protection and renewals and decide on them on a case-by-case basis.

Supporters of DACA claim Trump’s repeal of the program will cause trauma and heartbreak to the “children” affected.

But the consequences of the repeal should not be placed on anyone’s shoulders but the parents of these immigrant children themselves.

Many of the children who were brought here illegally by their parents are college students, hold down jobs, and are proud to be living out their dreams within the United States.

There is a legal path to citizenship that none of these parents chose to follow, and now their children are suffering for it — young adults who have grown up here may be forced back to a home country they have no connection to.

But for those children who have grown into adulthood while living in the U.S. under DACA protections, there was also the opportunity to begin the path to legal citizenship — having grown up in the U.S., there would be few barriers to the knowledge needed to pass the citizenship test, so why did so many of them ignore this opportunity?

While the left calls President Trump “cruel” and “heartless” with his repeal of DACA, false information on the “Dreamers” — the name given to the youth who were illegally brought to the U.S. by their parents —  is being circulated in the liberal media.

TheDaily Caller reported:

While DACA recipients were illegally brought to the United States by their parents when they were children, the minimum age to apply for the program is 15 years old. In fact, the majority of the applicants were over the age of 20.  Some have estimated that the average age of dreamers is 25 or 26 years old–hardly children.

The program, instituted by former President Obama, protects young undocumented immigrants from deportation and allows them to legally work within the U.S. with two-year renewable work permits.

It has also provided illegal immigrant students with benefits that American students may not receive — due to their typically low-income status and difficulty accessing documentation needed for colleges, students protected by DACA guidelines may be given a Social Security number to apply for federal financial aid and receive a higher percentage of grants or scholarships.

And despite their lack of citizenship, there are loopholes to allow them the benefit of in-state tuition rates.

The Center for American Progress reported:

With the Social Security number they receive as part of DACA, students can fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, and receive their Expected Family Contribution number. With this number, students can access institutional support in certain states and at certain universities, something they could not do without a Social Security number. Currently, 24 states allow DACA beneficiaries to pay in-state tuition rates and apply for education grants.

President Trump has given a guideline of six months to see what Congress can do to legally protect these young adults so they may stay in the U.S. and pursue a legal path to citizenship.

The repeal was not implemented lightly by the Trump administration, but both the President and members of his staff spoke of the damage to American citizens to have 800,000-plus illegal immigrants living and working here under the radar.

The New York Times reported:

Mr. Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who announced the change at the Justice Department, both used the aggrieved language of anti-immigrant activists, arguing that those in the country illegally are lawbreakers who hurt native-born Americans by usurping their jobs and pushing down wages.

Mr. Trump said in a statement that he was driven by a concern for “the millions of Americans victimized by this unfair system.” Mr. Sessions said the program had “denied jobs to hundreds of thousands of Americans by allowing those same illegal aliens to take those jobs.”

“Simply put, if we are to further our goal of strengthening the constitutional order and rule of law in America the Department of Justice cannot defend this overreach,” Sessions said.

Both he and Mr. Trump said the onus was now on lawmakers to protect the young immigrants as part of a broader overhaul of the immigration system that would also toughen enforcement.

President Trump has called on Congress to “do their job” and find a legal alternative to keeping these young adults in the country to continue their education and careers once they go through the proper channels toward citizenship.

The White House reported the decision was based on the legal ramifications of keeping the program running.  Many Republican state attorneys general had threatened to take legal action against the administration to bring the DACA program to an end.

The President stated his hope that Congress could come to some resolution over the situation and implied that he would “revisit the issue” if no progress on the part of Congress is made.

If the past is any indicator, that will not be an easy task.  Advocates for the “Dreamers” have tried to pass legislation called the “Dream Act” for more than 15 years with no success.

The bipartisan battle over the overall problem of illegal immigration in the U.S.  continues to rage while President Trump vows to stand strong on his promise to protect the American people.

With the current problems of terrorism overseas due to lax borders, and gangs, drugs, and violence being brought into the U.S. due to the exploding illegal immigrant crisis, now is not the time to back down in securing our borders and protecting the rights of American citizens.

President Trump himself has remarked on conflicted feelings over those affected by the repeal of DACA.  On one hand, he must uphold the law and the Constitution of the United States in protecting legal American citizens.

On the other hand, he understands the impact of ending the program on the young people affected, saying according to the New York Times, “I have a love for these people, and hopefully now Congress will be able to help them and do it properly.”

Trump said he looks forward “to working with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to finally address all of these issues in a manner that puts the hardworking citizens of our country first.”

And CNBC reported on Trump declaring,“As I’ve said before, we will resolve the DACA issue with heart and compassion — but through the lawful Democratic process — while at the same time ensuring that any immigration reform we adopt provides enduring benefits for the American citizens we were elected to serve. We must also have heart and compassion for unemployed, struggling, and forgotten Americans.”

While we can have compassion for the struggle facing these young adults who have lived for years within our borders, we must not forget the rule of law, nor the fact that legal American citizens are not afforded many of the benefits that illegal immigrants are allowed.

Whether or not Congress comes to a resolution of the problems caused by the Obama administration in implementing this doomed program, we must protect our country and put American citizens first.

What are your thoughts on the DACA repeal and its effect on the young adults who are caught in this situation?  Let us know in the comments section below.