what is daca
An extremely useful explainer from Vox.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a program established through the DREAM Act that allows undocumented immigrants who came into the US as children a path to citizenship. DACA is not a citizenship program; participants have their deportation deferred and are eligible to apply for 2-year work permits (which can be renewed). DACA has specific requirements, including age of entry, “lawful” status, and education. There is some grey area in the program, especially with what qualifies as a “lawful” status. Applying for DACA can be a risky process for undocumented people, who if they are determined ineligible can face deportation.
Since it’s implementation in 2012, DACA has become a hyper-partisan issue and a driving force for nativist, far-right lawmakers. Various key members of congress, the Trump administration; the fringe media, conservative think tanks, and nativist lobbyists are behind the attempt to eliminate DACA and paint DREAMERs to the public as criminals. Anti-DACA narratives have also been associated with campaigns for voter suppression, a merit-based system of immigration (which benefits Western, white immigrants), and the elimination of birthright citizenship.
Earlier this year, Trump ended Obama’s immigration executive order before it could be implemented. The program associated with the order called DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans) extended amnesty policies of deferred deportation for undocumented parents of American citizens. As he announced his elimination of DAPA, Trump reassured his commitment to DACA. On Tuesday, Sept. 5, DACA expires, and Trump will have to decide whether to renew it, eliminate it, or modify it. As it stands, there are mixed signals as to what Trump will do; there are also mixed signals as to whether Congress will have the necessary support in the House and Senate to ensure protections for DACA recipients.
In light of speculation over the continuation of DACA, pro-immigrant organization Immigration Equality has recommended that undocumented people not file for DACA if they have not previously applied for it, as it may put them at risk of deportation.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a program established through the DREAM Act that allows undocumented immigrants who came into the US as children a path to citizenship. DACA is not a citizenship program; participants have their deportation deferred and are eligible to apply for 2-year work permits (which can be renewed). DACA has specific requirements, including age of entry, “lawful” status, and education. There is some grey area in the program, especially with what qualifies as a “lawful” status. Applying for DACA can be a risky process for undocumented people, who if they are determined ineligible can face deportation.
Since it’s implementation in 2012, DACA has become a hyper-partisan issue and a driving force for nativist, far-right lawmakers. Various key members of congress, the Trump administration; the fringe media, conservative think tanks, and nativist lobbyists are behind the attempt to eliminate DACA and paint DREAMERs to the public as criminals. Anti-DACA narratives have also been associated with campaigns for voter suppression, a merit-based system of immigration (which benefits Western, white immigrants), and the elimination of birthright citizenship.
Earlier this year, Trump ended Obama’s immigration executive order before it could be implemented. The program associated with the order called DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans) extended amnesty policies of deferred deportation for undocumented parents of American citizens. As he announced his elimination of DAPA, Trump reassured his commitment to DACA. On Tuesday, Sept. 5, DACA expires, and Trump will have to decide whether to renew it, eliminate it, or modify it. As it stands, there are mixed signals as to what Trump will do; there are also mixed signals as to whether Congress will have the necessary support in the House and Senate to ensure protections for DACA recipients.
In light of speculation over the continuation of DACA, pro-immigrant organization Immigration Equality has recommended that undocumented people not file for DACA if they have not previously applied for it, as it may put them at risk of deportation.
where washu stands
Source: https://www.ilrc.org/local-enforcement-map
St. Louis County is not a sanctuary county. Individual cities have different policies on their cooperation with ICE. WashU’s campus and social area sprawls across Clayton and St. Louis Proper. St. Louis has passed protections for undocumented immigrants despite not holding an official “sanctuary city” title. According to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Clayton city is categorized as a “red” district which does cooperate with ICE to some extent:
“The remaining red jurisdictions do not have formal MOUs or contracts with ICE, but nonetheless are willing to assist ICE with deportations in other ways, such as by holding immigrants on detainers, providing extensive information about individuals in county custody to ICE, and generally granting any requests that ICE makes of them. We are concerned that most of the red shaded counties below are regularly violating the Fourth Amendment by detaining immigrants without probable cause or legal authority.”
In 2016, Chancellor Wrighton wrote a letter affirming the university's support for DACA policies, and has said that WUPD is “not in the business of enforcing federal immigration law.” It should be noted, WashU is not a sanctuary campus and WashU does not provide resources specifically dedicated to DACA students. The lack of designated financial and academic resources for DACA students has not been addressed by the university.
If DACA ends
Here are resources for DACA recipients in the event the program is not renewed:
https://undocu.berkeley.edu/legal-support-overview/what-is-daca/
https://www.ilrc.org/what-do-i-need-know-if-daca-program-ends-august-28-2017
https://undocu.berkeley.edu/legal-support-overview/what-is-daca/
https://www.ilrc.org/what-do-i-need-know-if-daca-program-ends-august-28-2017
additional resources
The New York Times’s Op-Ed board began an ongoing project in response to Trump’s wavering stance on DACA where they highlight the stories of DACA participants:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/storywall/american-dreamers?mcubz=1
My Undocumented Life is an online blog dedicated to news pertaining to undocumented people with lots of resources for DACA participants: https://mydocumentedlife.org/
The Texas Tribune has extensively covered DACA and other issues pertaining to undocumented people on the national and local level: https://www.texastribune.org/search/?q=DACA
United We Dream (@UnitedWeDream) is an immigrant youth-led organization dedicated to defending DACA: https://unitedwedream.org/
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/storywall/american-dreamers?mcubz=1
My Undocumented Life is an online blog dedicated to news pertaining to undocumented people with lots of resources for DACA participants: https://mydocumentedlife.org/
The Texas Tribune has extensively covered DACA and other issues pertaining to undocumented people on the national and local level: https://www.texastribune.org/search/?q=DACA
United We Dream (@UnitedWeDream) is an immigrant youth-led organization dedicated to defending DACA: https://unitedwedream.org/