Is it now or never for DACA?

Hey there! I’m Myah Ward, a White House reporter at POLITICO, subbing in for Brakkton today. Brace yourselves for the post-election, lame-duck session push, because Congress has a long to-do list. On there is something that has long been put on the back burner — immigration reform, particularly when it comes to the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has allowed hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children to receive work permits and deportation relief. Around 300 DACA recipients, Dreamers and immigrant advocates are descending on Washington this week to kick off their lame-duck push for action on immigration. They’re flying in from all over the country — New York, Texas, Nevada, California, Florida, you name it. Immigrant advocacy groups are calling the campaign the “Week of Action,” in which hundreds of meetings will take place with lobbyists, business and faith leaders, White House officials and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. To name a few, groups have scored meetings with key Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Alex Padilla of California and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, but they’re also starting talks with Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Mike Lee of Utah and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. This isn’t the first DACA push on the Hill, but supporters of immigration reform argue that this time, it’s now or never. As DACA recipients remain in legal limbo, advocates and legal experts warn the program is likely headed to the Supreme Court, where the conservative bench seems likely to rule it illegal. Activists stand in front of the Supreme Court building with signs reading "Home is here." DACA advocates gather in front of the Supreme Court, June 18, 2020, in Washington | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo “This is about our lives. This is about my life,” said Greisa Martinez, executive director of United We Dream. “I have every intention to ensure that there’s no way that in this country — when my life and the lives of undocumented young people are on the line — to allow politicians to just say the right words and not deliver.” Martinez said they’ll also flood lawmakers’ phone lines with calls to pass permanent protections and a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth. And Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi received a letter late Monday, signed by more than 200 state, local and national immigrant, labor, faith, civil, health and human rights organizations, urging the Democratic leaders to “prioritize DACA protections in any end-of-year package.” A message from Bank of America: United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) elevates and supports the voices of young Native Americans as they work to strengthen their communities. During the pandemic, Bank of America funding helped UNITY enhance the technology that allowed them to stay connected with members. “The writing on the wall is pretty clear that DACA is on its way to end,” said Diana Pliego, a policy associate at the National Immigration Law Center and a DACA recipient. “We need them to feel the urgency that we feel in our daily lives.” The election results have given advocates a morale boost. A Democratic majority in the Senate and a much slimmer, though likely, GOP majority in the House opens the door for bipartisan discussion during the lame duck, said Will Dempster, a spokesperson at the NILC. But potential GOP control in the House come January still scrunches the timeline for a deal, advocates warn, making it all the more urgent to pass something in the next few months. A quote from Diana Pliego, policy associate at the National Immigration Law Center and a DACA recipient reads "We need them to feel the urgency that we feel in our daily lives." Durbin, who first sponsored the DREAM Act more than 20 years ago, is already urging his GOP colleagues to make the most of the moment — to end the year with legislation “we can be proud of.” And on the Senate floor Monday, Durbin directly addressed “Republican colleagues, particularly those who are leaving and have told me privately they’ve always wanted to vote for the DREAM Act.” “This time will give us a chance to work together, to come up with a good sensible approach to our border, a good sensible approach to the DREAM Act and help bring workers that we desperately need,” Durbin said, citing worker shortages in agriculture and health care. “We could do this. There’s no reason we can’t do it.” If Republicans and Democrats can strike a deal on anything immigration-related, odds are it would be DACA: 68 percent of voters support Congress taking immediate action to provide permanent legal status to DACA recipients and Dreamers, according to the 2022 Midterm Voter Election Poll, conducted by the African American Research Collaborative. For more information, visit us at http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/index.html.