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President Trump’s decision to reverse a campaign promise to repeal the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a relief for those children of undocumented immigrants.
Maria Cristina Garcia
Howard A. Newman Professor of American Studies
Maria Cristina Garcia, professor of History and Latino studies at Cornell University, says that Trump’s decision, while a relief to many DACA children, will not impact the status of their parents.
Garcia says:
“President Trump seems intent on reversing all of Obama’s policies and programs, so this morning’s news that the administration will not repeal the 2012 Deferred Act for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is both a surprise and a welcome turn of events.
“The continuation of the DACA program will allow an estimated 800,000 young people in the United States to study and work without fear of deportation unless they violate the terms of their DACA status. Whatever relief these young people feel today is tempered by the news that their parents will not be offered similar protection, since Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly also announced a formal reversal of Obama’s legally-stalled Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents.
“As ICE raids escalate across the country, DACA recipients will continue to fear that their parents will be picked up at any moment – on the way to work, church, or the supermarket – all because they had the audacity to want a better life for themselves and their families.”
