DACA Rescinded: Trump Fulfills Another Campaign Promise – But What Will Congress Do?

The Trump administration just ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but that doesn’t mean the “dream” is over.

The previous administration’s executive order was unconstitutional, according to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and the Trump administration kicked the ball to Congress.

But will this legislative body pass what amounts to amnesty?

The DACA program will be phased out over six months.

“The executive branch, through DACA, deliberately sought to achieve what the legislative branch specifically refused to authorize on multiple occasions,” Mr. Sessions said Tuesday at the Justice Department. “Such an open ended circumvention of immigration laws was an unconstitutional exercise of authority by the Executive Branch.”
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The Trump administration is facing a deadline set by the attorneys general of Texas and other states, who had threatened to file a legal challenge to DACA unless President Trump agreed to phase it out.

“To have a lawful system of immigration that serves the national interest, we cannot admit everyone who wants to come here. It’s just not possible,” Mr. Sessions said.

The question is, will a Congress that has so far refused to repeal the former president’s signature “health care” law do the right thing by law-abiding Americans? What happens if Congress passes a legislative version of the DACA program? How would that help Americans?

Whatever happens, President Trump did his part to end the executive DACA program.

In the interim, the government will stop processing renewal applications and the so-called advanced parole loophole pathway to citizenship, in which illegal aliens could be allowed to leave the country, re-enter, and apply for permanent legal status.

In a column titled “Mercy for the Dreamers,” Star Parker wrote:

Those who came here illegally of their own volition have violated both and this cannot be tolerated. President Trump said, “A nation without borders is not a nation.” I would add to this that a nation without law is not a nation. You need both.

Those whose arrived as minors, because their parents violated the law, do, I believe, deserve special consideration.

Certainly, as Christians, we understand that justice has two components — judgment and mercy. Judgment is the implementation of the law in its severity. Mercy is understanding and appreciating when there should be exceptions.

Photo credit: Korean Resource Center (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved