President Donald Trump’s action on ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program could impact more than 5,800 individuals across Pennsylvania, a move that federal lawmakers are at odds over.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said that children who were illegally brought to the United States, at a young age, are not to blame and deserve support.
“However, President Obama did not have the legal authority to create the DACA program and to ignore enforcement of existing immigration law,” he said. “President Trump’s decision to end this program, while giving Congress six months to come up with a legislative solution, is the right step.”
What needs to happen, Toomey said, is that Congress has to pass legislation to help young people but also addressing problems in what he calls a deeply broken immigration system. He said that sanctuary cities need to be stopped and border security needs to be strengthened, and there needs to be a crackdown on companies that hire illegal immigrants.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said that these young people are law-abiding residents who have learned English, paid taxes and secured jobs that allow them to support themselves and their families.
He cited the CATO Institute, a public policy research organization, that reported that deporting individuals under the DACA program would come with a pricetag of more than $60 billion and would mean a $280 billion reduction in economic growth over the next decade. Meanwhile, The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that the 1.3 million young people enrolled in or eligible for DACA pay $2 billion each year in state and local taxes.
“It’s clear that Republicans in Washington and the Trump Administration are not serious about fixing the problem of illegal immigration, securing our border and reforming our immigration system,” Casey said. “Instead, their only plan is to deport 11 million individuals, including 790,000 Dreamers. Congress should move immediately to pass the bipartisan Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would allow the Dreamers to become permanent residents if they meet the very stringent qualifications outlined in the bill.”
Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., said he doesn’t believe that an administration should bypass the legislative branch with an executive order relating this issue.
“This is a legislative issue and only Congress has the constitutional authority to fix it. We must debate this issue and act swiftly,” he said. “Individuals brought here as children, through no fault of their own, know no other country but the U.S. Those who contribute to our society and economy should not be deported. There should be certainty over their legal status and those who do not follow the letter of the law should be removed from the country immediately.”
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said he is carefully looking over the Trump’s DACA directive. He said he is also in communication with other attorneys general and state leaders.
“I won’t hesitate to do my job and take legal action if the federal government breaks the law as it ends its commitment to these young people,” he said.
