WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wednesday’s appeals court hearing on a challenge to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) underscores the tenuous nature of the program — uncertainty that Congress could address by passing a permanent solution for Dreamers.
The hearing follows the 10-year anniversary in June of the announcement of DACA, an occasion on which 46 businesses and business associations sent a letter to Congress pushing for solutions. Numerous other leading voices, including national security, law enforcement and evangelical Christian leaders also urged Congress to act.
Recent polling indicates that Americans overwhelmingly support congressional action on immigration reforms that address permanent legal solutions for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, known as Dreamers, in addition to solutions for the agriculture sector and at the border.
“Americans are paying the price for the uncertainty around DACA,” said Laurence Benenson, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at the National Immigration Forum. “A court-ordered end to DACA protections would not only send DACA recipients adrift but also exacerbate employers’ severe labor shortages and disrupt churches and communities.
“The need for a solution from Congress has been clear for many years. Congress must allow DACA recipients and other Dreamers to earn permanent status and eventual citizenship.”