Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff. 

From Costa Rica to Washington, governments continue to wrestle with issues of undocumented immigrants as people young and old flee situations of despair with dreams of reaching the United States of America.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday the end of the President Obama-era program called Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals better known as DACA. Sessions asked U.S. Congress to do their constitutional job — within six months — in revising U.S. immigration law to legally accommodate the so-called ‘Dreamers.’

Federal courts have already examined this DACA executive order issued by former President Obama in 2012 and it was declared unconstitutional because the U.S. Congress writes the laws of the land including those involving immigration, not the president. None of President Trump’s executive orders have yet to be found unlawful, however some have been revised such as his order to limit travel to and from some Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East.

During and after Sessions’ statement hundreds of pro-DACA protesters gathered outside the White House, Trump Tower in New York City and other cities across the nation including Denver, Chicago, Phoenix, San Francisco and San Diego.

“This DACA is a difficult thing for me,” President Trump said. “I love kids.”

There are about 780,000 Dreamer children now protected from deportation as long as they go to school or work and remain criminal-record free. Two-year work permits were issued and re-issued to thousands of Dreamers. These work permits will be phased out over time, Sessions said in his announcement. The entire DACA program will end in 2020.

These Dreamers are undocumented children were brought into the U.S. mainly from Mexico and Central America by their parents, and now are English-speaking adults with virtually no memories of having lived in any other country. They are a special group of people that are undocumented for reasons beyond their control.

The U.S. Congress has six-months to devise a plan not only allowing these Latinos to stay, but provide a step-by-step path for permanent U.S. residency which can result in eventual citizenship. Many of the Dreamer kids have citizen brothers and sisters born in the U.S. These siblings are referred to as “anchor babies.”

One thing is clear. None of these Dreamer adult-children are going anywhere anytime soon. Mass deportations of Dreamers are not being discussed, however those with criminal records are being looked into by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on a case-by-case basis and they may have to deal with possible deportation, according to news reports.

Reaction to President Trump’s decision — to rescind DACA and start over by drafting constitutional legislation that would allow the Dreamers to stay in the U.S. – has been swift, loud, and clear – the majority of Americans support letting them stay.

“President Obama’s executive order on DACA was illegal. However, this is a real problem we should solve in a bipartisan fashion,” said Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. “There are ways to make sure people who have been here since childhood are allowed to stay. We should include efforts to reduce and reform immigration in other areas at the same time. Congress will need to address this problem.”

Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reacted right away in expressing her opposition to phasing out DACA.

“No time to waste – We’ve got to fight with everything we’ve got to defend DACA,” Clinton tweeted. This social-media tweet helped ignite street protests that spread across the nation Tuesday afternoon. The Democrats — right along with mainstream media — are using scare tactics to drum up support for keeping DACA as it is and extending the illegal program indefinitely because in years past the U.S. Congress failed to act appropriately by issuing laws giving Dreamers permanent residency status. President Obama issued his executive order protecting the Dreamers for as long as he could. That day has come and gone. The U.S. Congress must deal with this long-time political hot potato.

Mainstream media is abuzz about President Trump’s anti-DACA decision calling it “heartless” and “cruel.” In a Wednesday editorial in the Washington Post their editorial board highly criticized the president, but rightly emphasized the economics of the Dreamers and what they represent to America.

Dreamers are Americans in every way that matters except they are not United States citizens as they should be. President Trump’s action should represent a new beginning for the Dreamers without fear of the future.

 

P.S. Last Friday night two small boatloads of migrants attempted to leave Costa Rica bound for Honduras or El Salvador with dreams of reaching the U.S. eventually through Mexico. Due to Nicaragua’s restrictive migrant policies the group of about 30 men, women and children apparently tried to travel north of Nicaragua. The Costa Rica Coast Guard intercepted the migrants. The Costa Rica Star News reported both boat captains jumped ship and escaped while one man drowned and a child was reported missing. The surviving migrants were returned to a base camp in La Cruz, Guanacaste while they await their fate.

About the Author

Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.