Dreamers in the US facing deportation

Dreamers in the United States may be in for a nasty wake-up.

Right now, they are facing deportation.

The Catholic church in the US has issued an urgent call to action to help Dreamers (young immigrants brought illegally to the country as children).

While they are currently shielded from deportation under an Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, this is about to change.

DACA allowed some individuals who entered the country as minors, and had either entered or remained in the country illegally, to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for a work permit.

The protection DACA offers is about to change.

President Trump ordered an end to DACA last September. He gave Congress until 5 March to deal with the fate of DACA recipients.

The Senate’s failure last week to get the 60 votes needed to move a bill forward to protect Dreamers is affecting about 700,000 immigrants.

The precarious position the Dreamers may find themselves in has spurred Church leaders from across the US to ask Catholics to contact members of Congress next Monday.

Dubbing Monday 26 February as a “National Catholic Call-In Day to Protect Dreamers,” the bishops want Catholics to ask Congress members “to protect Dreamers from deportation, to provide them a path to citizenship, and to avoid any damage to existing protections for families and unaccompanied minors in the process.”

“With the March 5th deadline looming, we ask once again that members of Congress show the leadership necessary to find a just and humane solution for these young people, who daily face mounting anxiety and uncertainty,” they said.

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