It’s become almost cliché: DACA recipients are bright, hardworking, deserving young people who — in addition to being an undeniable part of the social fabric of the United States — contribute immensely to the success of our economy. So it’s no surprise that when Attorney General Jeff Sessions made the announcement on September 5, 2017 that President Trump was rescinding the DACA program, voices all across the country spoke up loudly in protest.
Indeed, DACA has become a hot area. Many groups and individuals have rushed to organize clinics and provide funds for those still eligible for DACA renewals. Others — including, ostensibly, President Trump himself — are pushing Congress to finally pass a version of the long-awaited DREAM Act. Lawsuits have also been filed challenging the cancellation of DACA.
But beneath all the noisy political fervor, there’s quiet distress, despair, and disappointment. Under the terms of the cancellation, most DACA recipients don’t qualify for renewals anymore. Some of my clients have DACA grants that expire just days beyond the cutoff of March 5, 2018. So, despite the feel-good outpouring of support, they can’t take advantage of the clinics or the funds. Even if legislation replacing DACA is miraculously passed in the next six months, it is hard to imagine that the administrative implementation of such legislation will take place quickly enough to prevent all DACA grantees from losing jobs, driver’s licenses, scholarships, in-state tuition, and much more. Worse than that, I’m not sure what, if anything, will prevent the loss of many DACA recipients’ faith in our country — the only country most of them know.
It isn’t just cliché, and it isn’t just a nice sound bite. There really are almost a million people whose lives are in limbo right now, and they really don’t deserve to be caught in the middle of a politically-themed reality show. My DACA clients are students pursuing degrees in nursing, teaching, law, philosophy, and engineering; they are their companies’ hardest workers; they are loving parents of small children; they are business owners; they are star athletes. The requirements for receiving DACA were strict, and all of these individuals showed in good faith that they met them. Now they sit disheartened before me in my office and ask, “Is this really it?”
What will we tell them?
Hannah Woolf Vigoda is the Owner and Principal Attorney of Vigoda Law Firm, a firm focused exclusively on the practice of immigration law located in Raleigh, North Carolina. Attorney Vigoda herself came to the United States as a young child with her parents, who were refugees from the Soviet Union. She understands that her family was afforded a special privilege in being warmly welcomed to the United States, and believes in extending the same welcome to others. She can be reached via her website at www.vigodalaw.com.
