The Quote Below—More Misinformation from the Media
“Ten years ago – on June 15, 2012 – young undocumented students won a breakthrough victory with the announcement of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. DACA was the result of the sustained and courageous advocacy of countless ‘Dreamers,’ who shared their own immigration stories and hopes for the future.
“DACA has proved to be one of the most successful immigration programs ever. More than 800,000 individuals brought here as children have relied on DACA work permits, deportation protections and other opportunities to pursue higher education and join the workforce. Rather than living in the shadows, undocumented children who met the program’s criteria finally had the opportunity to chart a future determined by their own dreams and hard work. DACA is successful, and endangered
“Today, however, DACA is at grave risk. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing a case on the legality of DACA. A decision ruling against the program could come down later this summer. . . .
“At a time when our nation is suffering severe labor shortages, with consequences ranging from rising inflation to diminished economic growth, we need the talents of young undocumented people. But we cannot realize Dreamers’ potential without making the protections and opportunities afforded by DACA permanent.
“Because DACA was not created by Congress, it has been at risk since its inception. A judge could strike down DACA, or a president could rescind the program, as President Trump attempted to do in 2017.
“We formed the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration because we knew that DACA was worth fighting for. Our alliance gave college and university presidents a stronger voice for addressing the many immigration issues that impact our students, campuses and communities.” –- America’s Most Successful Immigration Initiative is in Danger, Louis Caldera, Nancy Cantor and Elsa Núñez. Detroit Free Press, 6/16/22 [Link]
Fact Check of Above Quote: This article concedes that DACA has been “at risk since its inception” because Congress didn’t create it. This is just a sugar-coated way of saying that DACA is blatantly illegal. It is illegal because it violates the constitutional separation of powers. Under the Constitution it is Congress, not the president, who makes law. President Barack Obama understood this principle when illegal alien advocates in his party were pressuring him to decree DACA as law after Congress failed to pass it.
In response to demands that he unilaterally grant amnesty to illegal aliens in the DACA category, Obama stated in October 2020, “I am not king. I can’t do these things just by myself.” In March of 2011, he declared that “[with] respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that’s just not the case.” Two months later in May, he conceded that “[I can’t] just bypass Congress and change the (immigration) law myself. . . . That’s not how a democracy works.”
But Obama finally gave into the pressure. He assumed the role of king and decreed DACA to be the law. It’s a sad commentary on our political system that this illegal edict is still standing. The alleged benefits of DACA are secondary to its illegality. If its supporters want DACA to be a law, they should enact it the right way—through Congress.
They might be able to do that because many Americans don’t want to hold children accountable for the illegal actions of their parents. Nevertheless, passage of a bill probably will require the pro-amnesty forces—much against their will—to accept some compromises, such as provisions to enhance border security. This is how democracy works; it involves give and take. Alien advocates prefer all take and no give.