In this case, we are talking about this issue because a promise was
made, and then in the transition from one administration to the other,
a different approach was taken. In September, President Trump decided
to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. This
announcement required those whose DACA waivers would expire within 6
months to submit a renewal application in just 1 month--not a lot of
time to get that done. Unfortunately, many DACA recipients were unable to meet this short
deadline, and others who managed to get their applications in time were
still rejected due to postal delays--not because of something that
young person did but due to postal delays. While the administration has
said these individuals may be able to resubmit, many are immediately at
risk of deportation. Just imagine that. In fact, it is impossible for me to imagine it,
and maybe it is impossible for anyone in this building to imagine that
you are an individual who came forward because of this program, because
of a promise your government made to you that you would be protected if
you came forward. You came forward after years of living in this
country--many years wouldn't add up to a long life because these
individuals are obviously very young. Some of them came when they were
just a couple years old or a couple of months old, and they know no
other country. In fact, one individual whom I met with around a big
conference table of about 15 to 20 DACA recipients said to me in this
meeting a couple of months ago, she said: The only country that I know,
doesn't want us. That was her assessment of what the ending of this
program should mean to her. So that is what they are at risk of. They are not just at risk of
some theoretical consequence. They are literally at risk of deportation
after living here all these years and not knowing any other country
because of their circumstances. It is estimated that 12,000 DACA recipients have already lost their
protection--12,000 young people--and that number will grow to some
20,000 by March. Why would our country break a promise to 12,000
individuals and then 20,000 and then potentially much, much higher
numbers? So we can't wait one more day, in my judgment, to help these
Dreamers. Dreamers across Pennsylvania and the Nation already are living in
fear and feeling the consequences of this horrific decision. ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has already picked up a
young Dreamer during a routine traffic stop whose DACA waiver had
expired. This Dreamer had been waiting to reapply for protection after
his initial application was rejected due to--I will say it again--
postal delays. While the administration has said they would allow these
applications that were rejected due to postal delays the chance to
reapply, the administration has been silent on what these individuals
should do in the interim. For many Dreamers, this means they must
choose between risking deportation and continuing to work and provide
for their children and their families, depending on the circumstance. These Dreamers have done everything right, and their applications
were rejected, not due to any action they did not take, but they were
rejected for other reasons--due to a failure of our government. Yet,
now, they are paying the price. Risking ICE detention and deportation to countries within which they
have never lived as adults is totally contrary to our values. Dreamers
are young people who have lived in this country since they were
children. They are law-abiding residents who have learned English, paid
taxes, gone to school, secured jobs that support themselves and their
families.
Keywords matched
Immigration DACA deportation