On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration’s effort to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program was not legal. The decision is a win for those protected by DACA, undocumented children brought to the U.S. at an early age, otherwise known as ‘Dreamers’.
Sergio Garcia-Rios, professor of government and Latino studies at Cornell University, is an expert on Latino citizenship, voter participation, preferences and polling. He is leading a Univision project to measure Latino voter preferences throughout the 2020 election cycle. He says:
“The decision will offer temporary relief from fears of deportation as these Dreamers continue to provide the positive impact they have in this country, as several studies have shown.
“However, what the Supreme Court decision doesn’t provide is a permanent solution to the precarious status of DACA recipients who are still vulnerable without a firm legislative stance. While the initial attempt by the Trump administration was characterized by courts as ‘arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).’ The ruling would not stop the administration from attempting to end DACA and expose Dreamers to deportation in the future.”
Maria Cristina Garcia is a professor of history and Latino studies at Cornell University, and studies migration and refugees, including authoring the book “The Refugee Challenge in Post-Cold War America.” She says:
“The close to 700,000 DACA recipients, who are working, paying taxes, and studying in the United States can breathe a sigh of relief – at least for now. When they signed up for DACA, they made themselves visible to the government but also vulnerable to the changing whims of policymakers. They are long-time members of our society. Why not legally recognize them as such and offer them a pathway to citizenship? 74% of Americans broadly support this idea.”
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