6 September 2017 – Washington:
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The program was initiated in 2012 by President Obama after extended congressional inaction on immigration. It has protected nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children from deportation and offered them the ability to work and study in the US.
In his announcement, Attorney General Jeff Sessions sought to justify the decision by peddling the “alternative facts” of the Trump campagin and administration. The worst of these were false claims about criminal behavior perpetuated by DACA “Dreamers” and about their effect on the American economy. Like fellow immigrants, the “Dreamers” commit fewer crimes than other Americans and are easily a net benefit to the economy.
The result of these lies is considerable injustice towards our DACA neighbors. Indeed, the President’s decision is widely understood to be rooted in some deplorable combination of racism and a vulgar political appeal to the racists in his base. That this is true is hardly surprising.
The President’s DACA announcement comes less than a month after his equivocation in the face of neo-Nazi and white supremacist triumphalism that lead to the death of Heather Heyer (32). The adminstration’s announcement also comes only a week after the President’s premature pardon of Joe Arpaio. In fact, the former Sheriff was convicted of criminal contempt for disobeying a federal judge’s order on detaining individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. That fact makes Trump’s DACA decision especially cruel.
A majority of Americans support DACA and oppose the Arpaio pardon.
Despite this, a White House “talking points” memo urged DACA recipients to prepare for “departure,” a much starker future than administration officials suggested in announcing an end to the program. The memo reads:
The Department of Homeland Security urges DACA recipients to use the time remaining on their work authorizations to prepare for and arrange their departure from the United States — including proactively seeking travel documentation — or to apply for other immigration benefits for which they may be eligible.
The decision is likely to affect a wide variety of individuals for whom the United States is the only home they’ve ever known. This includes Superman, who is understood to have arrived in the country illegally as a child. Despite fighting his whole life for ‘truth, justice, and the American way’ and the destruction of the planet of his birth, the superhero is widely expected to be deported. Sources suggested that Russia has offered to take him.
And if Superman leaves, he won’t be the only DACA hero to be lost. Alonso Guillen (31), a Mexican-born DACA ‘Dreamer’ died attempting to rescue Harvey flood victims in Houston. His mother was refused a humanitarian visa to visit the U.S. to see her son’s body. That’s the current truth about injustice and the American way.
(this account is based on the original story that appeared here)
A VIEW FROM BELOW 