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Standing Up for Dreamers in San Diego as Trump Trashes DACA

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“No one should fall for the White House spin that there was a modicum of humanity embedded in their decision today” – Frank Sharry

Ignore all the misdirects coming out of Washington. President Trump is ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program,  protecting DREAMers — unauthorized immigrants brought to the US as children or young teenagers — from deportation.

It’s time to take the streets, burn up the congressional phone lines, and in every way possible stand in solidarity with the 800,000 people the administration is set to ship off to places they have little or no connection to.

These are the demonstrations in San Diego today (Tuesday, September 5), via Indivisible:

10 -11 AM
“Darrell, Don’t Dump DACA” Unity Rally

1800 Thibodo Road Vista 92081
Constituents of Rep. Darrell Issa (CA-49) protest Trump’s expected order to nullify the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program and call on Issa to support Congressional action to preserve the ability of Dreamers to live and work lawfully in the U.S.

6 PM
Defend DACA Rally (San Diego)

San Diego County Administration Center
1600 Pacific Highway San Diego 92101
Indivisible members across the region support this rally sponsored by Ready Now San Diego, Alliance San Diego and San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium.

6 – 7 PM
“Duncan, Defend DACA” North County Rally

Westfield North County Mall, near Romano’s Macaroni Grill
202 E Via Rancho Parkway @ Westfield Way Escondido 92025
Constituents of Rep. Duncan Hunter (CA-50) rally in support of DACA and call on Hunter to support legislative action to preserve the ability of Dreamers to live and work lawfully in the U.S.

Rallies and protests at various college campuses are being announced this morning.

UPDATE:

6-9pm
Forum on the Future of DACA

Centro Universidad Popular (1234 North Santa Fe Avenue, Vista, CA 92083, Suite 100).
In these moments in which 800,000 young people in our community confront an uncertain future and live in their own flesh the betrayal of politicians in the imminent elimination of the DACA program, we unite in defense of our migrant families who struggle to find a dignified life. We petition for a comprehensive and humane immigration reform. We invite concerned community members to join us in support of migrant families who are impacted by inhumane immigration laws and anti-immigrant politics

***

DACA officially is over. Gabe Ortiz at Daily Kos covered this morning’s announcement:

Because he was too cowardly to deliver the speech himself, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III this morning announced that Donald Trump is ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Immigrant rights group America’s Voice: “DHS will immediately stop accepting applications for DACA and will stop renewing current beneficiaries in March 2018”:

As immigrant rights leader Frank Sharry tweeted, “Trump doesn’t get to be a little pregnant on DACA. His administration is formally ending it today. The ‘delay’ is window dressing.”

The fact is that Donald Trump is ending DACA protections for 800,000 immigrant youth who trusted the United States government with their addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and fingerprints, and is punting his cruelty to Congress when in fact the program is lawful and can be continued. This is the height of cowardice, and the most shameful day yet of his administration.

“No one should fall for the White House spin that there was a modicum of humanity embedded in their decision today,” said Sharry. “There is no middle ground or equivocation when it comes to Dreamers. It’s a time for choosing, and we all should stand with Dreamers in today, their time of need, and push Congress to advance a clean, bipartisan, and permanent bill to extend the protections and opportunities they deserve and we all benefit from.”

***

Here’s a decent explainer on DACA and its impacts.

Some quotes from local activists:

Laura Moreno, Chair of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium, said the following:
“This is a cruel and heartless decision that would uproot the lives of 800,000 or so young people, including as many as 40,000 in San Diego, who are working, studying, and contributing to the community. These are people who have lived in the United States since they were children. This is the time to stand with them, not to use them as bargaining chips in a political tug-of-war. That’s why we’ve partnered with trusted immigration attorneys in the community to offer FREE legal consultations to all undocumented immigrants. We are asking people to go to our website, ReadyNowSanDiego.org, to find out about upcoming events and make an appointment for a free legal consultation to help determine their eligibility for other programs.”

Jesus Mendez Carbajal, a DACA recipient and Human Rights Organizer at Alliance San Diego, said the following:
“This heartbreaking announcement fills me with intense emotions, not only for myself but for all other DACA recipients, our families and our communities. I ask my fellow DACA recipients to please ride this tumultuous wave of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty with love and hope in our hearts. We will get through what is ahead of us and our communities now that DACA is ending. During these times of desperation, we must hold true to our values and our worth and not be swayed by ‘bargains’ that offer us a pathway to citizenship at the expense of our families, communities, more border agents and border region militarization.”

***

Here’s what’s going to happen.

A broad coalition of activists and faith groups worked for months to come up with contingency plans for this eventuality.

As an article in Vox explains:

Early morning demonstration at Trump Tower

They’re now setting those plans into motion. “We’re ready for a national emergency call to action,” said Greisa Martinez Rosas, the advocacy director of United We Dream, an immigration advocacy organization with more than 100,000 members and 55 chapters, last week. “Any Republicans or Democrats not on our side better believe we’ll be at their offices, in their churches, and wherever they get their late-night drinks to make sure they know what’s at stake and that we won’t go away until the rights of immigrants are protected and safe.”

At a meeting last week, immigration activists decided on one emergency strategy in case Trump ends DACA.

“We had this moment of, ‘What is our last ditch-effort to fight this? What can we do to show we’re putting everything on the line?,’” said Jasmine Nazarett, of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement. “And the answer we settled on was fasting.”

Crowds began gathering outside the Capitol building early on Tuesday morning. People from Maryland, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, New York, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts have arrived in Washington, DC with the intent of fasting through the week.

This week’s demonstrations will be followed by an all-out push to pressure Democrats and Republicans to back S-1615, the latest Senate version of the DREAM Act, which would provide a direct path to citizenship for DACA recipients.

The Senate bill was introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and cosponsored by two other Republicans — Sens. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) — as well as four Senate Democrats.

Hello? Representatives Scott Peters and Susan Davis, where are you?

Democrat Juan Vargas is the only member of the local congressional delegation to cosponsor the American Hope Act of 2017, (H.R. 3591). Introduced by Illinois Democrat Luis Gutierrez in late July, the bill has 116 co-sponsors.

Don’t buy the bullshit. There is a lot of blue smoke and mirrors surrounding this move, like the six-month sunset provision, rumors of congressional action, and even a story saying Trump might not really pull the plug in March.

Let’s sort through some of the distractions being bandied about in the news media today.

At the Washington Post, Greg Sargent warns readers not to be fooled by the six-month delay. It’s a scam, pure and simple, allowing –according to the CATO institute–190,000 DREAMERs to renew their permits by March 5th. For 600,000 of these people, the practical outcome is identical, with or without a “six-month delay.”

The leaks currently coming out of the White House right now suggest this will be spun as a kind of third-way, middle-ground solution that lies somewhere between killing the protections for the “dreamers” right now and letting them continue.

But let’s be clear on what this six-month delay actually does and does not do. Because of the logistical realities that attend winding down these protections, announcing this on a “six-month delay” is very likely to be identical in practical terms to announcing it today for a large majority of those 800,000 people. And for that large majority, it means they are losing their protections in the very near future, upending the lives of hundreds of thousands who currently are working or pursuing an education and had hoped to continue making positive contributions to American life.

Don’t accept the stories saying the President is unhappy or being forced to make this decision. Conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin explained just how cynical the Trump administration’s attempts at sugar-coating this announcement really is:

Some in the media take seriously the notion that he is “conflicted” or “wrestling” with the decision, as though Trump were engaged in a great moral debate. That would be a first for Trump, who counts only winners and losers, never bothering with moral principles or democratic norms. The debate, if there is one, is over whether to disappoint his rabid anti-immigrant base or to, as is his inclination, double down on a losing hand.

The instantaneous backlash on social media Sunday night was a preview of the floodgates of anger that Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program would open. […]

First, let’s not think Trump — who invites cops to abuse suspects, who thinks ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio was “doing his job” when denying others their constitutional rights and who issued the Muslim ban — cares about the Constitution (any of the “twelve” articles). Trump says, “We love the dreamers. … We think the dreamers are terrific.” But in fact he loves the applause he derives from his cultist followers more than anything. Otherwise he’d go to the mat to defend the dreamers and secure their legal status.

Don’t trust the Congress to do the right thing. It won’t happen unless people demand it. Trump’s so-called delay so Congress will act is also a cynical ploy. The ‘deal’ being talked about in the media involves some hard-line House Republicans being willing to trade a vote for DACA in return for funding to build the border wall.

From Politico:

Meanwhile, some Republicans such as conservative Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas are openly floating trade-offs to protect DACA recipients, even as Democrats insist that Dreamers aren’t bargaining chips for tougher immigration restrictions. In the House, senior Republicans still believe there’s a possible deal to be struck with Democrats: codifying DACA in return for Trump’s sought-after border wall.

That leaves Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — who have both expressed sympathy for the plight of Dreamers in the past — in an awkward political position as they navigate a fall agenda that is already packed with a slate of must-pass bills, including government spending bills, a debt limit increase, and an aid package for Hurricane Harvey victims.

One plugged-in immigration advocate predicted a “30-70 chance” that Congress successfully passes legislation that would essentially codify DACA — which temporarily defers deportations and provides work permits to qualifying young undocumented immigrants – into law.

Immigration hardliner Rep. Steve. King (R-Iowa) said pushing the decision to Congress could “cause a great big civil war among the Republicans.”

Looking for some action? Check out the Weekly Progressive Calendar, published every Friday in this space, featuring Demonstrations, Rallies, Teach-ins, Meet Ups and other opportunities to get your activism on.

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Doug Porter

Doug Porter

Doug Porter was active in the early days of the alternative press in San Diego, contributing to the OB Liberator, the print version of the OB Rag, the San Diego Door, and the San Diego Street Journal. He went on to have a 35-year career in the Hospitality business and decided to go back into raising hell when he retired. He won numerous awards for his columns from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Doug is a cancer survivor (sans vocal chords) and lives in North Park.

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