US bishops endorse bill to provide legislative fix for DACA recipients

Washington D.C., Apr 25, 2018 / 17:02 pm

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday evening that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program must be re-opened to new applicants, and the following day the USCCB announced support for the "Uniting and Securing America (USA) Act of 2018," which would codify DACA into law.

DACA is an Obama-era federal program that protects people who were brought to the United States illegally as children from being deported and also provides for work permits. DACA recipients, who are commonly referred to as "Dreamers," must renew their DACA status each year.

President Donald Trump has sought to end DACA, saying that the initial program was only an executive order that went beyond the scope of presidential powers.

While other court decisions have ordered that the federal government begin to accept DACA renewals, the April 24 decision by Judge John Bates was different in that it re-opened the program for new applicants. Bates said that he did not believe the Trump administration provided a strong enough case for why the program should end.

Trump has urged Congress to pass a law that would combine some of DACA's provisions along with immigration reform, but so far these efforts have not been successful.

Bates' decision will go into effect in 90 days, unless the Trump Administration issues new reason as for why it is ending DACA.

The USCCB's Committee on Migration issued a letter of support April 24 for H.R. 4796, dubbed the "Uniting and Securing America (USA) Act of 2018."

The bill would shield "Dreamers" from deportation and would provide for a path to citizenship for certain qualified persons. Additionally, the USA Act of 2018 would increase border security and would seek to address corruption in Central America – a major cause of "irregular migration."

The bill was introduced by Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Pete Aguilar (D-CA), and is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of representatives.

The letter is signed by Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, who is chairman of the USCCB's committee on migration.

"While a larger solution is still needed to fix our broken immigration system, we urge Congress to first focus on passing H.R. 4796, as written, or similar bipartisan and narrowly-tailored legislation," said the letter.

"Any legislation passed should provide Dreamers with a path to citizenship, not undermine our family-based immigration system or terminate existing protections for vulnerable migrants, and ensure that border security measures are just, proportionate, and humane."

Vasquez said it was a "moral duty" to protect Dreamers, and that they are "valuable members of our communities."