Domestic Public PolicyAmerican GovernmentForeign Policy

DACA and Immigration

Posted on in Domestic Public Policy · Foreign Policy · American Government

Congress passed a bipartisan, two-year budget deal last week. Over the objections of many Democrats and immigration activists, the deal did not address the status of “Dreamers,” those living in the United States under the terms of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. The Trump Administration rescinded the DACA program last fall, giving Congress until March 5 to come up with a legislative fix. 

Instructors, click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt, a debate question, as well as other assessment questions.

Download the PowerPoint Lecture Spark for DACA and Immigration

 

Links

Shutdown ends after Trump signs budget deal
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/08/congress-massive-budget-deal-2018-398189

Trump ends DACA, Calls On Congress To Act
https://www.npr.org/2017/09/05/546423550/trump-signals-end-to-daca-calls-on-congress-to-act

What is a pathway to citizenship?
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2013/apr/02/what-pathway-citizenship/

Five Myths About DACA
https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/five-myths-about-daca?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-Y6-0PSd2QIVyLjACh0mmANiEAMYASAAEgImQ_D_BwE

Polls show Americans are closer to Democrats than Donald Trump on immigration
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/3/16959458/immigration-trump-compromise-public-opinion-poll-dreamers-wall

Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration To Keep DACA In Place
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-administration-ordered-daca-in-place_us_5a55931fe4b0b117f880754d

We Swore to Defend the United States. But We Can’t Get to Boot Camp Without DACA
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/08/military-daca-william-medeiros-216947

Democrats’ DACA fight is a power play designed to turn Dreamers into a new army of liberal voters
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/01/16/democrats-daca-fight-is-power-play-designed-to-turn-dreamers-into-new-army-liberal-voters.html

Trump’s divisive immigration comments at SOTU
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-state-of-union-immigration_us_5a71069ce4b0a6aa487453a1

Assessment

  • Writing: A fix to DACA is a legislative issue and should not be subject to executive orders.
  • Debate:  A budget bill is the wrong vehicle for finding a DACA legislative fix.
  • Poll: Children brought to the United States by their parents should not be subject to deportation.
  • Short Answer:  Why did many activists hope to have DACA included in the budget bill that passed Congress last week on a bipartisan basis?

Current Events Quiz

1) Congress has passed multiple immigration reform bills in the past decade. (T/F)

2) Many Democrats voted against the February 2018 budget bill because it did not include a fix to DACA. (T/F)

3) President Trump has asked Congress to fix DACA by March. (T/F)

4) Dreamers are:

a. Those hoping to get a visa to visit the United States
b. Undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as Children by their parents
c. Specifically immigrants from South America
d. None of the above

5) Public opinion polls demonstrate that a majority of American prefer:

a. A pathway to citizenship for Dreamers
b. To keep DACA protections
c. Not to build a border wall
d. All of the above

Answers:

1. False
2. True
3. True
4. D
5. D

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