In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court decided President Donald Trump cannot end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In his argument, Chief Justice John Roberts said the President did not provide sufficient justification for ending the Obama-era program in 2017.
“We do not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies,” the chief justice wrote. “We address only whether the agency complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action.”
Today’s ruling will come for a relief for DACA beneficiary’s, known as “Dreamers,” however it does not guarantee their status in the United States. The court ruling leaves room for the Trump Administration to terminate the program with adequate justification.
Our position on DACA has not changed. As Founding Partner Michael Murray wrote in the Portland Press Herald in January 2018, Dreamers hold a special place in our American story.
The Dreamers must be extended a fair and expeditious path to citizenship so the stress and inequity of the status imposed upon them by circumstances out of their control can finally end. We should bring them fully into the American family. This is a core principle that our nation was founded on and by which most of us live our lives: to welcome good people who have no place to call home.
Michael Murray, “Special Case of the ‘Dreamers'” – Portland Press Herald, January 18, 2018
Today, there is a reason to celebrate. But we must stay vigilant as we work to protect the rights of Dreamers. Michael’s full op-ed is included below, and our collective responsibility remains the same.
Special case of the ‘Dreamers’ calls for solution based on country’s values
Originally published Jan. 18, 2018, Portland Press Herald
They are fellow citizens in all but name, and we should bring them fully into the American family.
The population of undocumented immigrants in our nation was viewed as a group of people with entirely similar backgrounds and needs until then-President Barack Obama drew a circle around those children who were brought here unlawfully by their parents, or who lost their legal status through no fault of their own.
These children were named “Dreamers” in reference to a failed attempt to pass legislation to protect them: the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, Act. Obama stepped in, and by executive order, directed Immigration Customs and Enforcement to deprioritize the deportation of these children and ordered Citizenship and Immigration Services to issue work permits to those who applied and were qualified.
The DACA Program
The program that the previous president created is called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. What Obama could not do on his own was to confer the Dreamers a green card (permanent residency) or citizenship, as these benefits are governed by federal statute and require an act of Congress to alter. In spite of this, DACA was necessarily temporary in nature, and the next president would have to decide its fate.
President Trump chose, effectively, to end the program by not extending it. In spite of this, His actions, or lack thereof, created an ultimatum for Congress and the president to agree on a legislative solution by March. Unfortunately, the recent wrangling between President Trump and congressional leaders provides slim hope that a lasting solution for the Dreamers can be hammered out. In the rabid political environment, we find ourselves in, it’s important to keep focused on who the Dreamers are and what their fate means for our nation.
The Dreamers are like no other group of immigrants who have awaited judgment from the U.S. government. They are the innocent. Additionally, as a country, we have agreed that children cannot be held liable for their actions. This is codified into every aspect of the U.S. legal system, whether civil, criminal, or administrative.
Dreamers are without refuge elsewhere. Growing up in America, they often speak only English. The nature of their immigration status means that they weren’t able to travel outside the U.S. until DACA was established. They have no other “home” to return to. If forced to leave, Dreamers will be cast out of the only home many of them have ever known.
These are good kids, as required by the terms of the program. Dreamers have passed security screenings. They have graduated from high school, served in the U.S. military. Many Dreamers hold jobs and pay taxes or have gone on to college. They have achieved this while under the constant threat of having it ripped away, at any moment, by a knock on the door.
We must decide, as a nation, how we will treat this group of Americans in all but name. Dreamers should not be used as a political football to be punted from one branch of the government to another. Their case should not be jumbled together and confused with border security or illegal employment. Theirs is a special case. A solution, based on American values, must be found.
The Dreamers must be extended a fair and expeditious path to citizenship so the stress and inequity of the status imposed upon them out of their control can finally end. Hence why we should bring them fully into the American family. This core principle our nation was founded on and by which most of us live our lives: to welcome good people who have no place to call home.
In the uneven history of our immigration laws, the Dreamers are one of the clearest cases of a group that deserves our protection. Despite this, It is easy to lose sight of this point in the daily barrage of political bickering. History, however, will take note of what we did in this moment in time and how we treated this special group of immigrants.
