In the new episode of the podcast From Los Angeles, presented every week by Néstor Fantini, Gabriel Lerner and María Luisa Arredondo, we discussed the future of the Dreamers and the immigration reform proposal presented to the federal Senate.
A few days ago, a federal judge in Texas dealt a new blow to the Dreamers by declaring that DACA is unconstitutional. This program was created in 2012 by the Barack Obama administration to protect against deportation and give temporary work permits to undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children. It is estimated that around 700 thousand young people are currently protected by DACA.
For now, the decision The Texas judge leaves intact the temporary protection enjoyed by those already covered under DACA. However, the decision will prevent new applications from being accepted. This means that thousands of young people who are about to enter high school or university will not have the privilege of qualifying under DACA.
The Dreamers, of course, have not stood idly by and have protested across the country to demand that Congress and the Biden government fight for its legalization.
But, as always, the issue has caused wide partisan divisions because, while the Most Democrats, at least in speech, say they support them, among Republicans there is great reluctance. They demand that, before any action to legalize the Dreamers or any other group of undocumented immigrants, security at the border be strengthened and blame the Biden administration for the growing number of illegal crossings by Central Americans.
The Democrats, for their part, hope they can legalize Dreamers, TPS recipients, farm workers and other essential workers through the budget reconciliation process. However, the path to obtaining approval for this process will not be an easy task.