Friday, March 29, 2024

Biden Administration Launches Effort to Protect DACA

On Wednesday, the Biden Administration furthered efforts to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which lets thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children work and stay in the country.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a rule allowing the DACA program to continue. The program has protected over 800,000 immigrants from deportation.

President Joe Biden said in a statement that his administration was “fulfilling our commitment to preserve and strengthen” the program by finalizing regulations to “reinforce protections” for “Dreamers,” a denomination used to describe those who participate in DACA.

“Ten years ago, I stood by President Obama as he announced one of our proudest accomplishments — creating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA. The program has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of young Dreamers by allowing them to live here and contribute their talents to this great country without fear of removal,” Biden expressed.

The Biden Administration has been working on the finalized rule since last year, and it will replace the Obama-era memo after it takes effect on October 31.

Immigration advocates have repeatedly asked Congress to pass legislation granting a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients. However, all efforts to pass immigration reform have failed.

CNN