Finally, Trump to Address DACA

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

UPDATE:

● RYAN MOVES TO SAVE DREAMERS

● TRUMP DECISION: TUESDAY

I get it.  If I didn't live in the United States, I'd want to be here, too.  I also get it when it comes to the kids of illegal aliens.  It's not their fault their parents broke federal law, and entered the country illegally, and based on the fact that these kids grew up in the United States, they are as American as their legal, and native, counterparts.

The problem is, they are still illegal aliens.  And, to be honest, anchor babies are not even technically citizens.  (see "Myth #13: Anchor Babies are American Citizens")

When dealing with immigration law, we have to make sure we continue to protect the receiving population, and act uniformly when it comes to the application of the law.  Therefore, as much as I would like to say to the Dreamers and anchor babies, "Ah, all right, full amnesty for you guys," doing so would not only not be in accordance to how our immigration system is supposed to operate, but it would also open the floodgates, and everybody and their sister (if that's not already the case) would be clamoring to take advantage of the opening in the fence.  And, what kind of message would we be sending to those who did go through the immigration process legally?  Wouldn't that be a slap in their face?

Many Republicans have been bothered by the fact that while President Trump talked a strong game on immigration during the 2016 campaign, and has taken some steps in securing our border and protecting the receiving population from potentially dangerous illegal aliens and migrants, the "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" program, or DACA (Dreamers Act) had essentially been ignored by the administration. . . until now.

Word now has it that sometime soon, possibly today, President Trump will be announcing plans to end the Obama administration program.

Trump promised to terminate the program during the presidential campaign, but since his inauguration there had been talk that he wanted to leave open the door so as to preserve certain parts of the program.

That said, with the end on the horizon, spokesmen have said the “dreamers” currently in the program will be allowed to stay in the U.S. until their work permits expire – which, for some, could be as long as two years.

Trump has not given the final sign-off, yet.   White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at the daily briefing the program is still “under review.”

“A final decision on that front has not been made, and when it is, we will certainly inform everybody in this room,” she said.

“Our position has been that President Trump should allow DACA to lapse,” Ira Mehlman from the Federation for American Immigration Reform told Fox News. “As people's two-year deferments and work authorization expire they should not be renewed.”

That said, Trump has suggested he either might not entirely do away with DACA, or another thing might be coming to address the young people who are either in the program, or hoped to escape deportation.

“They shouldn’t be very worried,” Trump said of the young people in the program. “I do have a big heart.”

The Democrats are in full force in their opposition to the possibility of Trump ending DACA.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary