We've been contacted the last 24 hours about whether Pres. Trump is breaking his very clear campaign promise that he would end Pres. Obama's executive temporary amnesty called DACA (for illegal aliens who arrived here as children).
There have indeed been several very troubling indications over the last two days that cause concern.
It is important to note, however, that nobody in the Administration has said that it will NOT act to end the unconstitutional issuance of work permits to hundreds of thousands of illegal border crossers and visa overstayers whom the law says have no right to the documents.
For the moment, let's not rely on the confusion found in the media reports. Let's assume there is a good reason for the announced delay. But let's make sure that Pres. Trump and his staff are absolutely clear that we back them in ending DACA. And that we fully expect them to do so.
It has become clear the last two days that Pres. Trump will not end the renewals and issuance of DACA work permits "immediately" as he stated repeatedly in the campaign.
I'm not particularly concerned about fulfilling the literal timing of the promise. There may be some very good reasons for an initial delay. But without clarity of intent, we are left with the uncertainty created by the last two days of statements from the Administration.
1.
On "Fox News Sunday" yesterday, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was asked about the DACA amnesty. "I think we're going to work with House and Senate leadership as well to get a long-term solution on that issue," he said. "I'm not going to make any commitments today, but, you know, I've obviously foreshadowed there a little bit."
2.
Then, Monday Politico reported on an interview with a government spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services who said there has been no change in the DACA program inside the bureaucracy.
"We are still accepting/processing DACA requests under existing policy."
-- USCIS spokesman Steve Blando
Politico reported that on a typical day USCIS has been processing 140 new applications and 690 renewals of previous work permits. The permits expire after two years. Most DACA recipients are getting ready for their third two-year legalization
3.
Also yesterday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer at his first press briefing told the media that ending DACA is not a priority. The Associated Press reported its understanding of Spicer's statements in this way:
"President Donald Trump will focus immigration enforcement efforts first on criminal immigrants in the country illegally, his administration said on Monday, offering hope to more than three-quarters of a million young immigrants protected from deportation under the Obama administration.
"Those protected from deportation under former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program have been worried that Trump would follow through on a campaign pledge to immediately end the 'illegal amnesty.'
"While Spicer did not explicitly rule out action on the program known as DACA, his comments suggest that Trump's initial policies will be similar to Obama's. Spicer noted Trump has said his focus would be on immigrants in the country illegally who have a criminal record or pose a threat."
I again repeat that neither Pres. Trump, Spicer or Priebus has said the Administration intends to keep the DACA work permit program going for any length of time. It is possible that there is a strategic reason that we would applaud for this initial delay. It is also possible that factions within the new Administration are already disagreeing about immigration policy.
It is important that the citizens of America speak to the Administration with a clarity about this issue that thus far has been lacking from the Administration itself. At the very least, the Administration must stand firm with Pres. Trump's campaign insistence that only Congress -- and not a President -- has the constitutional power to give an amnesty.
TWEET TO STOP DACA AMNESTY
Below, you will find several prepared Tweets that you can send. Several of the Tweets quote directly from Pres. Trump's Inaugural address. If you already have a Twitter account, simply click on the link to send the Tweet. If you don't have a Twitter account, and are interested in signing up for a free account, visit https://twitter.com/signup. We encourage you to create your own Tweets that include Pres. Trump's Twitter handles -- @POTUS and @realDonaldTrump.
Candidate @realDonaldTrump said he would "immediately" end #DACA -- @POTUS should end it NOW!
"2 simple rules: buy American & hire American." - @POTUS. Turn illegal #DACA off @realDonaldTrump
"Every decision...will be made to benefit American workers." - @POTUS. Stop issuing work permits thru illegal #DACA @realDonaldTrump
"Get our people off of welfare and back to work" - @POTUS. Rescind unconstitutional #DACA executive action @realDonaldTrump
ROY BECK is President & Founder of NumbersUSA
