A federal court ruling in Texas surpassed former US President Barack Obama’s authority when he launched a plan to ensure that hundreds of people who were illegally brought into the country as children remain in the US. may persist in, has again cast a cloud of uncertainty over the future of these so-called ‘dreamers’. President Joe Biden is a supporter of citizenship for this category of immigrants and his administration has said it will appeal the decision. Here’s what you need to know.
What is DACA?
Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, as the name suggests, is a program that promises to stop deportation for a specific category of people who are living in the US without valid papers.
To apply, a candidate must have entered the US without authorization before their 16th birthday and must have lived in the country continuously since June 15, 2007, which is five years before Obama launched the DACA program by executive order.
Also, applicants cannot be more than 31 years of age as on June 15, 2012, i.e., they must have been born on or after June 16, 1981, if they wish to apply for protection under DACA. In addition, to apply, a candidate must be enrolled in high school or already have a diploma or specified educational qualification or have served in the Armed Forces.
The plan protects people from deportation for two years at a time and applications can be renewed, although it does not include a path to US citizenship. However, those who enroll under DACA can obtain work permits and health insurance, which has allowed many of them to study in the country.
How many people have used this program? Does it include people of Indian origin?
According to various reports, around 800,000 people have availed the scheme and a total of 15 lakh people are eligible to apply for DACA protection. Most of the applicants are from neighboring Mexico, although there are thousands of Asian applicants as well.
non profitable South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) said that as of August 2018, there were “approximately 2,550 active Indians DACA recipients”. It said that “only 13 per cent of the total 20,000 DACA eligible Indians have applied for and received DACA”. SAALT said that in total, there were more than 5,000 DACA recipients from South Asia.
Why are they called dreamers?
Those eligible to apply for DACA, also known as ‘Dreamers’, are a nod to a long-pending law known as DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Foreign Minors). ) is called the Act, which Vowel describes as “a recurring proposition that allows unauthorized immigrants to obtain legal status and ultimately apply for citizenship”. However, the proposal was never approved by the US after it was introduced in 2001 and was finally buried in 2010.
What happened under Trump?
Obama’s successor, Republican President Donald Trump, announced in 2017 that his administration was ending the DACA program. However, after years of appeal, during which time the courts allowed the renewal to continue, the matter was eventually taken up by US Supreme Court, which stymied the Trump administration’s move in 2020 in a 5-4 decision. The court had ruled that “the administration failed to provide sufficient cause to justify termination of the DACA programme”.
What are the possible next steps?
The federal court’s decision does not mean that the US will have to begin deporting DACA award winners, although the judge said no new applicants would be entertained. However, Democratic President Biden, who has promised legislation to provide a path to US citizenship for the nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US, has said his administration will appeal against the decision.
Describing the federal court’s decision as “deeply disappointing”, a statement from the president said that “while the court order no longer affects current DACA recipients, the decision will continue to affect hundreds of thousands of young immigrants for an uncertain future.” does”.
“The Department of Justice intends to appeal this decision to preserve and strengthen DACA. And, as the court considered, the Department of Homeland Security plans to issue a proposed rule relating to DACA in the near future,” The statement said.
But Biden noted that only the US Congress can “ensure a lasting solution by providing a path to citizenship for dreamers that will provide the certainty and stability these young people need and deserve”. But when Biden said he has “repeatedly called on Congress to pass the American Dream and Promise Act”, it is widely believed that Republicans and Democrats are on the same page when it comes to granting US citizenship to illegal immigrants. are not on the page.
Meanwhile, a report of politician It suggests that an upcoming $3.5 trillion spending bill to Democratic lawmakers may seek to insert a path to citizenship for Dreamers and other undocumented US residents without passing the Senate, or the upper house of the US Congress. Republican lawmakers can pass any support required by a simple majority. However, reports say it is not certain that any immigration rules thus far can be pushed through the Senate.
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