[su_carousel source=”media: 35278,35279,35280,35281,35282,35283,35284,35285,35286,35287,35288,35289,35290,35291,35292,35293,35294,35295,35296,35299,35300,35302,35303,35304,35305″ limit=”65″ link=”lightbox” target=”blank” width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″]<\/p>\n
The news that the Trump administration would rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) wasn\u2019t surprising, but it was nonetheless demoralizing for tens of thousands of immigrants who were granted work permits and protection from deportation under the program.<\/p>\n
It was early morning on Tuesday, Sept. 5 when Attorney General Jeff Sessions said what every \u201cDreamer\u201d (the nickname given DACA recipients) had been dreading: \u201cI\u2019m here to announce that the program known as DACA that was effectuated under the Obama Administration is being rescinded.\u201d<\/p>\n
The news directly impacts roughly 800,000 DACA recipients\u2014many of whom have only known the United States as their home\u2014as well as the families, friends and communities that surround them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to say \u2018devastating\u2019 because I want to let our community know that this isn\u2019t the end, and not to panic,\u201d said Gerardo Gomez, a DACA recipient who was diagnosed with HIV three years ago. \u201cOur work permits are still valid until they expire \u2026 It\u2019s not the end, you might feel sad now, but remember that there\u2019s a vast network of people who have your back and we\u2019re fighting for you now and we\u2019re going to keep fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released few details about the phasing out of the program, it did announced that it won\u2019t accept any new DACA applications. DACA will remain in effect though for those who have already received it. Recipients whose DACA and work permits expire by March 5, 2018 will be eligible to apply for renewal by Oct. 5, 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is 30 days to file a renewal application,\u201d said Ana Herrera, managing attorney with Dolores Street Community Services. \u201cThe administration also announced that they will not be considering any new advanced parole requests [which are required for recipients to travel outside the country]. This is the nuts and bolts of the decision that was announced today.\u201d<\/p>\n
A couple hours after Sessions made the announcement, various immigrant rights, civil rights and faith groups from around the Bay Area held a news conference at the steps of San Francisco City Hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is young people today who are sitting in hunger strike outside of the White House, protesting the decision of President Trump,\u201d District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim said at the conference. \u201cBut we know that DACA is a \u2018bandage solution.\u2019 We need comprehensive immigration reform now, and it cannot wait any longer \u2026 But more importantly than ever before, it is important that we don\u2019t let an individual [President Trump] elected through a flawed and unfair process, where you can win the White House without the popular vote, define what America is.\u201d<\/p>\n
The six-month delay will give Congress a small window to pass some sort of immigration reform.<\/p>\n
\u201cCongress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can\u2019t, I will revisit the issue!\u201d President Trump tweeted.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After the decision was announced, Barack Obama tweeted: \u201cTo target hopeful young strivers who grew up here is wrong, because they\u2019ve done nothing wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n Hundreds of protesters and DACA recipients stood outside of the San Francisco Federal Building on Sept. 5, holding Anti-Trump posters and chanting \u201cTrump and Pence go away, Dreamers stay.\u201d<\/p>\n Law enforcement tried containing the large crowd to the sidewalks, but the demonstration grew and grew until it spilled into the streets, causing downtown traffic to come to a halt. Eventually everyone made their way to City Hall where some DACA recipients shared their stories.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to thank the Dreamers for their leadership,\u201d renowned civil rights activist Dolores Huerta told El Tecolote. \u201cThey\u2019re at the front of the march, they\u2019re out there showing people how you can make significant and major changes for yourself and for your community. I think it\u2019s interesting because they have the whole country rattled\u2026 I\u2019m in total admiration of them because of their leadership and their resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n Huerta, an iconic figure during the farmworker, feminist and Chicana movements, has a message for activists:<\/p>\n \u201cThe only thing I want to say to the Dreamers is to be careful that [Trump Administration] do not use the Dreamer issue to divide us. To divide us in the Latino community. That they\u2019re not gonna say \u2018Okay, we\u2019re going to give you DACA, but you gotta take the wall with DACA. And I think that may be the Republican strategy and so we have to be very careful of that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [su_carousel source=”media: 35278,35279,35280,35281,35282,35283,35284,35285,35286,35287,35288,35289,35290,35291,35292,35293,35294,35295,35296,35299,35300,35302,35303,35304,35305″ limit=”65″ link=”lightbox” target=”blank” width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″] The news that the Trump administration would rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) wasn\u2019t surprising, but it was nonetheless demoralizing for tens of thousands of immigrants who were granted work permits and protection from deportation under the program. It was early morning on Tuesday, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":35300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3929],"tags":[8165,3843,3844,5957,4731,12491,11849],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-35277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","tag-barack-obama-en","tag-daca-en","tag-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-en","tag-department-of-homeland-security-en","tag-jane-kim-en","tag-jeff-sessions","tag-trump","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n