White House to Make DACA Decision on Tuesday

Ryan J. Farrick — September 3, 2017

President Trump has struggled to take a hard line on DACA and its Dreamers, even in light of harsh rhetoric on illegal immigration. Image via Forbes.com.

On Friday, the White House announced that President Donald Trump would make a decision on the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Trump is expected to come to a conclusion some time on Tuesday.

Any ultimatum on DACA has the potential to affect nearly one million young people living and working in the United States.

President Trump has repeatedly changed his mind on how he feels about the recipients of DACA, who are known as ‘Dreamers.’

Before assuming office, the then-Republican candidate promised to knock out the program with an executive order after inauguration.

Some months after becoming commander-in-chief, Trump expressed sympathy for Dreamers, telling them he had a “big heart” and that they should “sleep easy.” Throughout summer, the administration has continued sending mixed signals, with the president indicating that he’d be reluctant to terminate the program, which began under his predecessor, Barack Obama.

However, an impending lawsuit headed by the attorneys general of eleven conservative states could force the president to move his hand.

The initiative, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, gave the White House a deadline of September 5^th to rescind DACA. If the deadline isn’t met, the states would proceed with litigation.

A number of congressional Republicans have come out in support of Dreamers and have urged the Trump administration to keep the program going.

Wendolynn Perez, 23, second from left, a DACA recipient who is now a permanent resident and is originally from Peru, chants with other supporters of immigration reform outside the White House. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo. (image and caption via Politico.com)

House Speaker Paul Ryan, speaking in an interview with a media outlet in his hometown of Janesville, WI, said he didn’t think Barack Obama had the authority to endorse and enact DACA.

He also said that, if DACA needs to be ‘fixed,’ it should be done by Congress, rather than President Donald Trump.

“There are people who are in limbo,” Ryan said. “These are kids who know no other country, who were brought here by their parents and don’t know another home. And so I really do believe that there needs to be a legislative solution.”

Politico.com suggests that ending DACA could damage the Republican Party’s short- and long-term interests.

While some conservatives believe the program needs to go – and go quickly – others realize the necessity of securing Democratic support in an upcoming round of legislative doings. Goring DACA could make liberals less likely to approve a raise of the national debt ceiling and could contribute to the likelihood of the government shutting down by September’s end.

One proposal by Republicans that Democratic leaders say they won’t let fly: letting DACA live in exchange for funding Donald Trump’s border wall.

“I’ve said that I won’t participate in blackmail and allow President Trump to hold these DACA recipients hostage,” said Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY), who acts as the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.