DAPA Still In Limbo
- Rachel Carmona
- Oct 4, 2016
- 3 min read
If you haven't heard of DAPA, or "Deferred Action for Parental Accountability," it's time to pay attention. DAPA is President Obama's immigration Executive Action, announced in November 2014. If immigration is an important issue to you, read on - DAPA may be the only conceivable chance at anything that looks like reform in the near future.
In basic general terms, DAPA would prevent deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. DAPA would allow undocumented families, who pass background checks, to come out of the shadows and participate in our society fully. It would allow families of mixed status (undocumented parents + U.S. Citizen children, etc.) to ensure their unity and live without fear of a sudden ICE raid and possible deportation. DAPA is widely considered to be a just and humane temporary placeholder in lieu of comprehensive reform, which continues to be urgently necessary (examples here, here).
So exactly what IS DAPA? Who Qualifies? How would it affect the vast number of immigrants who live in the shadows?
- DAPA would have granted deferred action to undocumented parents of U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents
- To qualify, one must have lived in the United States since 2010. Also, one must not be a priority for deportation, meaning that you don't qualify if you are a threat to national security, have felonies and/or certain misdemeanors on your criminal record.
Although DAPA is not an actual legal status, it would grant work permits and exemptions from deportation.
What is DAPA not?
- DAPA is NOT amnesty. DAPA does not give anyone a route to a Green Card or Citizenship
- DAPA would not be granted to criminals as each applicant would be fingerprinted and their records would be scrutinized. Even applicants with certain misdemeanors on their records - crimes that most Americans would consider to be relatively minor - would probably not be eligible.
Presidential Candidates and DAPA
During this presidential campaign, the DAPA battle hangs in an uncertain balance - now more than ever. For us fervent advocates, DAPA is currently on hold (pessimists think it's over). But DAPA, and other immigration issues, should resume after the new POTUS is sworn in. Neither Lester Holt nor the candidates brought up immigration during their first presidential debate last week, and this was a big mistake.
DAPA is rarely discussed in the campaigns outside of a bullet point on HRC's website - the candidates say big, vague things about immigration (Trump: 'Build a wall!'), but a real, nuanced debate between them regarding immigration is essential. Most people don't care whether Trump paid taxes or whether Clinton's emails can be recovered. To the extent that people do care about those things, I submit to you that it is because their favored candidate continues to harp on it. But I, for one, want to watch the candidates debate and elaborate regarding their positions about DAPA, and immigration policy in general (along with other issues, NOT continue to hear "about your damn emails," as Bernie Sanders said.
Trump and HRC's battle of the personalities disgusts most Americans and does not help us decide about the big issues that affect us regular folk).
SCOTUS AND DAPA
After President Obama announced DAPA in 2014, as well as other immigration policies, several states sued and a temporary injunction stopped its implementation. The case has been appealed and last summer, after the death of Justice Scalia, which rendered the Supreme Court into an even number of justices (meaning that many controversial decisions would likely be "tied" 4-4) , the DAPA case was again pushed back. The Supreme Court, in just 9 words, affirmed the lower appellate court, stating: “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided court.”
SCOTUS again, today, refused to hear it. Although the Supreme Court rarely agrees to hear cases twice, it should hear DAPA again because of the 4-4 tie and the lack of precedent created by this 9 word decision. Therefore, who wins the presidency, and thus, what happens to the Merrick Garland appointment, will dictate whether and when SCOTUS will rehear DAPA (United States v. Texas). And this decision would affect millions of families.
For more information regarding DAPA and United States v. Texas, click here.
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