AG Jeff Sessions: “DACA is being rescinded”
“Wind down process” in which “Congress can act if it should so choose”
Later this morning, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is expected to make a statement announcing the winding down of the long-controversial DACA program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) affecting so-called DREAMers (live stream below), children who were brought to the United States by their parents and who entered the country without obtaining legal status benefit from DACA.
Since the program’s creation in 2012, DACA has never provided legal status, but has issued legal work authorization and the promise of deferred removal action. Neither is DACA law — it’s a DHS policy created by the Obama Administration, one widely considered well beyond the bounds of presidential authority.
Despite much of the rhetoric to the contrary, Trump’s administration has said repeatedly they have no plans to deport DREAMers who fall out of DACA, nor will there be any coordinated effort to round them up and ship them out. The priority of the DOJ and DHS for the foreseeable future remains criminal aliens, not those merely here without any current form of legal status.
Currently, DACA enrollees receive work authorization in two-year increments, subject to renewal. ABC reports that Trump’s plan does not end DACA immediately, nor does it rescind current permits, but that it winds the program down over the course of several months:
According to the two administration officials, here’s the policy to be announced later today:
- The administration won’t consider new applications for legal status dated after Sept. 5.
- If you are not already protected by the program, you are out of luck, although applications filed before Tuesday that are pending will continue to be processed.
- Anyone who has a DACA permit expiring between now and March 5, 2018, can apply for a two-year renewal. That application must be submitted by Oct. 5.
- Some Dreamers, those with permits that expire between now and March 5, will be eligible for legal status for another two-plus years. For others, legal status ends as early as March 6.
But officials insist that even if Congress fails to enact new protection for the Dreamers, they will not be rounded up and deported. Officials say the priority for deportation will continue to be undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes.
Though ABC isn’t correct in suggesting legal status will be extended for some dreamers as DACA provides no such thing.
Ultimately, anything beyond the above listed changes is wildly speculative. If, and it looks as though it will be the case, DACA gets kicked to Congress, it will be up to the legislature to decide what, how, when, etc. As it should be. And until they tackle DACA, no one really knows how this will pan out.
All of the hand-wringing could very well be for naught if Congress comes up with something that would essentially codify DACA by other means. The upcoming Sessions’ announcement will bring an end to a well-intentioned program that was created extralegally and allow Congress the opportunity to protect DREAMers the right way. And Trump seems perfectly amenable to signing some form of a DREAM Act.
Democrats have spent years pumping a generation of kids with the promise of legal status, a promise they knew they could never fulfill. In the words of Trump: sad!
Here is the full speech:
JUST IN: Here is Jeff Sessions’ full speech as prepared about rescinding DACA: pic.twitter.com/7K3HH6YUea
— Dominic Holden (@dominicholden) September 5, 2017
Memorandum on Rescission Of DACA | Homeland Security https://t.co/OtPTTujZRW
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) September 5, 2017
Reactions
They’re pretty much what you’d expect:
Sessions has been dreaming of this moment for decades — the moment when he has the power to begin rolling back non-white immigration.
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) September 5, 2017
Donald Trump is saying in every way possible that power in America is white, straight and male and all else are targets. #DACA
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) September 5, 2017
Yes, I realize I’m a victim of 35 years of failed trickle-down economics but a rich white guy just told me to blame a poor brown kid. #DACA
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) September 5, 2017
Sessions speech revoking #DACA is vicious, heartless and inhumane. His rollback impacts 800K young people who deserve a path to citizenship.
— Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) September 5, 2017
800K+ people on #DACA. 95% of them have jobs. But they’re Brown people so…let’s drop it. White Nationalism logic. pic.twitter.com/IplX39JYE1
— Alvin aqua Blanco (@Aqua174) September 5, 2017
Pelosi on DACA: “Decision to end DACA is a deeply shameful act of political cowardice and a despicable assault on innocent young people” pic.twitter.com/PQrHGG6HI4
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) September 5, 2017
For the racist, insufferable dumbasses. Stop making excuses and just admit you hate Latinos. #DACA
— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) September 5, 2017
Welcome to the land of Kim Jun Trump.
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) September 5, 2017
There are a few who understand the way DACA was created was a bigger issue than the program itself:
Illegal immigrants are the ones who get hurt by their lack citizenship the most. Unless you support modern day slavery & sex trafficking…???? https://t.co/sLI2MzesRg
— Richard A. Mills (@RAMRANTS) September 5, 2017
I’m sick of ignorant tweets like this. Following the law and respecting the constitution does not equal white nationalism. Get a clue, Alvin https://t.co/8ykgIQ4e46
— Richard A. Mills (@RAMRANTS) September 5, 2017
This thread from Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ):
It should be evident from the fear and confusion surrounding #DACA that executive actions have a short-shelf life… 1/5
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) September 5, 2017
Why protect #DACA. Why not fix it with permanent legislation, so the kids are not in limbo, or do you all just want to bitch and not help?
— Literally Not Hitler (@Mellecon) September 5, 2017
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Comments
And that is EXACTLY how it should be, Congress and the Senate creating the laws for the country instead of laws being created by EO.
Although given the amount of virtue signalling I think we can take it that even the left knows DACA as it stands will never get through for signature! So thats a good thing!!
Hm. I still don’t see any reason (as Millhouse said in the previous thread before it got all shouty) why a DACA ‘dreamer’ can’t get permission to step outside the country and back in again *legally* so they can apply for and get citizenship like every other person in the world who wants to be a US citizen.
They just have to get in the back of the line like everybody else, pay their fees, get their background checked (which should be easy if they’ve been in the US since childhood) etc…
Leaving the country invokes the bar for those who’ve resided in the U.S. for a certain period of time without status. It prevents any change of status (included EWI (entered without inspection)) to any other status.
Easy?
Did you know that the DHS in the Obama administration admitted that it was “overwhelmed” by approximately 800,000 DACA applications, and therefore did not perform the “rigorous background checks” that Obama promised would happen when he instituted this illegal program? DHS, in response to a Judicial Watch FOIA request, admitted that it never had either the money or the manpower to vet less than a million DACA applications. DHS also admitted that it had approved DACA applications even for applicants who had submitted no type of identification whatsoever.
The Obama administration, which was more than willing to cut corners, ignore existing laws, move money around between federal agencies and spend billions on things never authorized by congress, could not perform the DACA background checks that Obama promised the American public, but it will somehow now be “easy” for the Trump administration to do it?
move money around between federal agencies
This is the “internal debt” and isn’t particularly nefarious. It was standard practice ante Obama.
Such permission was unavailable to them before DACA, and will no longer be available if DACA is ended. Even with DACA it’s not automatic or of right, they have to give a good reason why they need to leave the country, and it’s up to whoever handles the application whether to grant it, though generally they will unless there’s a good reason not to.
Don’t forget that DACA covers a limited number of people. The extended DACA, which was invalidated by the courts, would have covered more people.
It is important to watch what is proposed – will it be limited to those covered under DACA, a more extended group of “children” or everyone.
Also, I hope that Congress acts on tax reform, the budget, the administration’s nominees and health care before they take their next recess or pass a immigration reform law.
A budget in 25 days
Obamacare repeal
An end to hiking the debt limit
Funding for the Wall
Hurricane Harvey relief funding
Codify DACA rules or leave immigration law as is
Sounds like Congress has some work to do, all in a pretty short span of time. Perhaps they shouldn’t have been resting on their laurels these many months. You know, do the job we elected you to do.
Add funds for whatever damage Irma does to the south & east coasts.
But… Russia! And Nazis. Yeah. They have to keep their priorities, after all. I mean this ‘budget’ stuff is just numbers, right? It’s not like budgeting is their primary purpose for being sent to Washington. Next thing you’ll tell us is that congresscritters actually have to represent their voters instead of anybody with a checkbook.
How many of those do you think will be accomplished in the 25 days? The only things I expect them to do is to create and open-ended DACA Amnesty and citizenship program, and to RAISE the debt limit while giving the Democrats everything they want with an Omnibus Spending Resolution.
A Republican controlled Congress can be compared to teats on a boar hog, and come off the worse for the comparison.
I’ve already placed calls to my two senators & my rep to say that they have higher priorities than an immigration bill. The order of things I wanted to see acted on was approval of all nominees for judges, attys and administration staff, budget, tax reform, healthcare insurance reform, and then maybe immigration reform.
you got it nailed
NMB
Thank you President Trump.
4,3,2,1….. a massive Media explosion/meltdown! Get the popcorn this will be a barn burner.
I wouldn’t be so quick to give Trump all that much credit. He also tweeted yesterday that if Congress doesn’t fix it (presumably by giving amnesty to those enrolled in the DACA program) he will “revisit” the issue. His Imperial Executiveness, Emperor Barak the Nonpareil, “visited” the issue, will Trump “revisit” if Congress either can’t come to a compromise or the majority of constituents demand Congress not legalize these people and the people not believe the lies like “We’ll only grant them amnesty when accompanied by strong enforcement of immigration law.”. We’ve seen that before: amnesty first, enforcement never.
Call me a Dreamer, but I always dreamed this would happen.
Hahahahaaa. Outstanding.
Trump struck a blow for law and order, and that’s a success no matter what Congress does with this.
Sessions said “catch,” and threw Congress a hand grenade which will keep them all occupied through the run-up to the next primaries. And they can’t do the usual Congressional thing and let the hot potato die by inaction, because this one’s ticking.
So … the Administration does the right thing for America, and does it in a tactically effective way.
They’re not always brilliant down there, but when they are, they make up for the times they’re not.
Heh. Well, look at it this way: Schumer was never going to compromise on this anyway, even without knowing from the president’s own team that he’s bluffing. He holds too many political cards: National polling supports DREAM legalization, the media will be even deeper in the tank on this issue than they are for most Democratic priorities, and there’s a brutal GOP intraparty battle royal brewing if Dems push hard here. Schumer agreeing to fund the wall in return for a DREAM Act would mean letting Trump out of a very tight spot politically, as the wall money might appease right-wing populists who otherwise dislike the idea of any form of amnesty. Insisting that only a “clean” DREAM Act bill will pass with Democratic votes would be Schumer playing hardball. Then Trump would be forced to decide: Does he surrender and sign a standalone DREAM bill, infuriating his base, or does he veto it, which would mean taking full political ownership of the fallout?
https://hotair.com/archives/2017/09/05/senior-wh-aide-politico-trump-bluffing-canceling-daca-six-months/
You should read the rest of the analysis. It’s rather good.
National polling?
They never asked me, nor anyone I know.
Nor me. STFW…???
Do you deny the gestalt? IF so, put up what support you have.
And just how would that counter the points made?
There was a national poll called the presidential election. Since it was a political pledge, there is an expectation that something will be done on the matter.
Yeh, you should (have called) call the White House.
But you didn’t. Strange.
“Since it was a political pledge…”
Boy, were you screwed!
Not to mention the problems with polling:
1. Depending on the sponsor of the poll, the polling questions often are constructed in a way to lead the subject to a desired answer; also,
2. In matters which have been controversial, it has been proven that many people tend to give the answer they believe the polling company wants, rather than the answer they actually believe, and,
3. The political makeup of those responding varies with the day(s) of the week in which the poll is conducted. Weekends tend to swing to the Democrat side more than weekdays. Obviously the time of the day also impacts the demographics of the sample; and,
4. The majority of people contacted refuse to take part in polls. This results in a self-selection of the sample from the universe, in other words can it truly be a statistically valid random sample when those responding apparently think it is a good idea to reply while the majority do not?
The DACA controversy demonstrates the wages of the “progressive” conceit that our ingenious constitutional system is obsolete, that modern problems are so unprecedentedly complex they demand extra-constitutional solutions — such as a president’s usurping of congressional power, exactly the road to tyranny the Framers feared.
That is what President Obama did in presidentially legislating the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program. Contrary to much of the public commentary, the defect in DACA is not that it was done in the form of an executive action (under the guise of a Department of Homeland Security memorandum). There is nothing wrong with an executive order that merely directs the lawful operations of the executive branch.
The problem is the substance of executive action. DACA is defective in two ways. First, it presumes to exercise legislative power by conferring positive legal benefits on a category of aliens (the “dreamers,” as concisely described in Yuval Levin’s Corner post).
Second, it distorts the doctrine of prosecutorial discretion to rationalize this presidential legislating and to grant a de facto amnesty.
These maneuvers violated core constitutional principles: separation of powers and the president’s duty to execute the laws faithfully. There has never been a shred of honesty in the politics of DACA. Democrats have taken the constitutionally heretical position that a president must act if Congress “fails” to. They now claim that to vacate DACA would be a travesty, notwithstanding that the program is blatantly illegal and would be undone by the courts if President Trump does not withdraw it.
For his part, candidate Trump loudly promised to repeal Obama’s lawless decree but, betraying the immigration-permissivist core that has always lurked beneath his restrictionist rhetoric, Trump has wrung his hands through the first eight months of his presidency.
As for the Republican establishment, DACA is just another Obamacare: something that they were stridently against as long as their objections were futile, but that they never sincerely opposed and — now that they are accountable — cannot bring themselves to fight.
It is all so unnecessary. Trump should do what he should have done his first day in office. He should declare the Obama-administration guidance null and void. Having sworn to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, he could explain that, while he would certainly execute any accommodations Congress enacts for “dreamers,” the president has no authority to confer positive legal benefits — such as work permits — on aliens.
Trump could remind the public that President Obama himself publicly admitted he did not have the constitutional power to do what DACA does. Consequently, it makes sense for Trump to end the program now rather than continue on an unconstitutional course that the courts would inevitably invalidate. You don’t fix a problem by persisting in a lawless holding pattern.
The president could then explain how prosecutorial discretion legitimately functions, and how it would be exercised in favor of the dreamers.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/451071/donald-trump-daca-democrats-must-compromise
Yeah, but that boat sailed, and it’s over the horizon now…
You should, again, read the whole thing.
Prediction: there will be untold mischief caused by Trump’s 6 month delay. If you want to end illegality, then just end it.
you can do better than POTUS run or office and WIN!
or —> for
(really nead a disQus like edit function)
https://hotair.com/archives/2017/09/05/white-house-trump-doesnt-want-standalone-dream-bill-wants-something-comprehensive/
Awwwww…
Poor Ann Coulter. Puuuuurrrr, puuuuuurrr T-rump suckers of every stripe.
Toldja…
LOL, the hotfart dumbass nevertrumper, who has never got one thing correct, fantasizes and you say “toldja”…
You fit. Neither of you have ever got one damn thing right. You might want to read a bit and discover precisely what President Trumps DOJ has done today.
Oh, and you can fantasize all you want. Cruz might even help you and Beck hand out teddy bears down on the Texas border, or were you there with them?
Once again, it will be the republican party, in control of both houses, that get to decide what legislation they will push through. Hold your hands up, republican dream supporters, there is an election coming up. We need to know where you stand.
Well, we at least know where Donald Ducks stands…
on the fence (not, BTW, the wall).
He’s firmly in favor of DREAMERS, and has said so many times. But he’s so gutless he won’t lead. He is not a leader. He’s not a skilled negotiator. He’s not a competent manager.
But he told us, “Only I can fix it”. I said that was narcissistic bullshit, and I’ve been right at ever turn.
But, as I like to say, “Watch and see”.
It’s sad to read all of these pro and con comments about the “Rescinding” of DACA since Trump just unrescinded it. Cheeto man tweeted last night that if Congress didn’t solve the problem FOR the Dreamers he would. That looks like amnesty for all with minimum background checks. I guess if one of them is in jail for a felony they may not get to stay but it looks like all will remain here for the foreseeable future. Then he bails and goes for the three-month debt ceiling extension! What next, single payer?
President Trump has published ill-advised tweets before, but last night he outdid himself. Trump tweeted:
Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can’t, I will revisit this issue!
The tweet undermines the rationale for Trump’s suspension of DACA, namely that it usurps power vested with Congress by the Constitution. He takes essentially the same position President Obama took. The former president reminded us yesterday that he called on Congress to grant relief to the “Dreamers” and that he granted it through DACA only when Congress failed to act. Trump now indicates that he will consider the same course of action if Congress doesn’t “legalize DACA” in six months.
But that’s not the worst of it. By promising to “revisit this issue” if Congress doesn’t “legalize DACA,” Trump is decreasing the likelihood that Congress will (1) act at all and (2) act optimally.
Absent his tweet, Democrats could reasonably believe they must make concessions on immigration enforcement in order to save DACA. With his tweet, Trump is signaling that no concessions need to be made — no wall, no e-verify, no nothing.
The Democrats can hold out for legislation that “legalizes DACA” and does nothing else. If they can’t get such legislation, they now have reason to believe Trump will rescue DACA for them.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/09/worst-trump-tweet-ever.php
Yep. As I said. Just as I said.