President Trump sought to reassure people brought to the United States illegally as children Thursday.
Two days after Attorney General Jeff Sessions outlined how the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will be phased out over the next six months, Trump took to Twitter to claim that “no action” will be taken in the meantime.
Regardless of what Trump tweeted, DACA recipients could find a lot to worry about:
• Trump gave no details. It’s unclear what Trump means by “no action.” Administration talking points distributed on Tuesday said clearly that DACA recipients should “prepare for and arrange their departure” or apply for other immigration benefits they could be eligible for.
• Some could be subject to deportation. Without valid documents, recipients are not lawfully in the U.S. and could be subject to deportation. The Department of Homeland Security has said generally, information DACA recipients provided to the government won’t be “proactively provided” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection for enforcement, but it does not say that none will.
• For some, there is no protection. The Administration is no longer accepting new enrollees as of Sept. 5. So, those who are newly qualified or were about to apply for the program do not have access to the protection it provided.
• Extensions have to be filed soon. Those whose documents are set to expire sometime in the next six months only have until Oct. 5 to apply to apply to have them renewed. That could be tough for those who don’t have money at hand for the $495 fee.
• The program’s future depends on Congress. Trump has said that Congress should act to solve the problem, but the DREAM Act has failed there before, which was why the Obama Administration enacted it by executive action in the first place.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said at a press conference Thursday that she asked Trump to write the tweet.
“I said, the people really need a reassurance from you, Mr. President, that the six month period is not a period of round-up,” she said, ” and these people will not be vulnerable.”
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