While President Trump wavered Thursday on whether he will stop shielding from deportation people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, his aides have identified at least two ways to quietly end their protections without his fingerprints.
An executive order has already been drafted to end the program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, that allows hundreds of thousands of the immigrants to live and work openly in the U.S. Trump used that legal mechanism to great fanfare to expand deportation authority and restrict entry to the U.S.
But with the president showing less willingness to sign such an order, advisors have begun to explore alternatives. Their hunt suggests that the White House is hesitant to publicly target a well-organized group of immigrants who have prominent public backing, including from President Obama, and to whom Trump has shown sympathy.
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Indeed, immigration agents arrest last week of a 23-year-old in Washington state who was in the program immediately caused an outcry.
But senior Trump aides are holding fast to their goal of strengthening immigration enforcement, the presidents chief campaign promise. They have examined at least two options that would not directly involve Trump, according to two immigration policy advisors to the White House: a lawsuit brought by states, and new legal guidance that details who is a priority for deportation.
Under that option, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, a vocal critic of deportation relief as a senator, would direct Department of Justice lawyers to review the program, which issues two-year work permits to people who qualify and keeps them from being categorized as deportation priorities.
If the Justice Department determines that DACA is not legal or is no longer a responsible use of prosecutorial discretion, the Department of Homeland Security would be instructed to stop awarding and renewing work permits.
Another possible path involves the courts. A handful of governors are considering a challenge patterned on the 2014 lawsuit filed by several conservative state officials against the Obama administrations expansion of deportation protections. If they sue, Sessions could instruct his lawyers not to defend the program in court, exposing it to indefinite suspension by a federal judge.
Deportation relief could also be ended the same way it was begun, said Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state and the architect of multiple state and local laws aimed at immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly could simply instruct U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to stop issuing work permits, much as Obamas first secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, created DACA with a memo in 2012.
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The White House is examining a range of options, an official said Thursday, emphasizing that no final determination has been made.
But some of Trumps core supporters fear that the turmoil within the White House and the severe blowback from his travel bans are weakening the presidents resolve. His wobbling on the Dreamers, along with Republicans stalled attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, stand out as parts of Trumps platform where pragmatic voices in the West Wing have quashed the rough-and-tumble impulses of nationalists Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller.
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Nevertheless, the executive order to stop the renewal of work permits, distributed around the West Wing three days after inauguration by Trumps top domestic policy advisor, Andrew Bremberg, sits unsigned.
And as it does, work permits are still being issued.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-daca-20170216-story.html
An executive order has already been drafted to end the program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, that allows hundreds of thousands of the immigrants to live and work openly in the U.S. Trump used that legal mechanism to great fanfare to expand deportation authority and restrict entry to the U.S.
But with the president showing less willingness to sign such an order, advisors have begun to explore alternatives. Their hunt suggests that the White House is hesitant to publicly target a well-organized group of immigrants who have prominent public backing, including from President Obama, and to whom Trump has shown sympathy.
......
Indeed, immigration agents arrest last week of a 23-year-old in Washington state who was in the program immediately caused an outcry.
But senior Trump aides are holding fast to their goal of strengthening immigration enforcement, the presidents chief campaign promise. They have examined at least two options that would not directly involve Trump, according to two immigration policy advisors to the White House: a lawsuit brought by states, and new legal guidance that details who is a priority for deportation.
Under that option, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, a vocal critic of deportation relief as a senator, would direct Department of Justice lawyers to review the program, which issues two-year work permits to people who qualify and keeps them from being categorized as deportation priorities.
If the Justice Department determines that DACA is not legal or is no longer a responsible use of prosecutorial discretion, the Department of Homeland Security would be instructed to stop awarding and renewing work permits.
Another possible path involves the courts. A handful of governors are considering a challenge patterned on the 2014 lawsuit filed by several conservative state officials against the Obama administrations expansion of deportation protections. If they sue, Sessions could instruct his lawyers not to defend the program in court, exposing it to indefinite suspension by a federal judge.
Deportation relief could also be ended the same way it was begun, said Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state and the architect of multiple state and local laws aimed at immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly could simply instruct U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to stop issuing work permits, much as Obamas first secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, created DACA with a memo in 2012.
......
The White House is examining a range of options, an official said Thursday, emphasizing that no final determination has been made.
But some of Trumps core supporters fear that the turmoil within the White House and the severe blowback from his travel bans are weakening the presidents resolve. His wobbling on the Dreamers, along with Republicans stalled attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, stand out as parts of Trumps platform where pragmatic voices in the West Wing have quashed the rough-and-tumble impulses of nationalists Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller.
......
Nevertheless, the executive order to stop the renewal of work permits, distributed around the West Wing three days after inauguration by Trumps top domestic policy advisor, Andrew Bremberg, sits unsigned.
And as it does, work permits are still being issued.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-daca-20170216-story.html