Immigrant groups urge Trump to automatically renew DACA work permits amid coronavirus
Immigrant advocates want the Trump administration to automatically renew applications for an Obama-era program that allowed thousands of undocumented young people to remain in the country.
Calls to extend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) ask President Donald Trump to reverse course and renew all work permit applications for two more years amid fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Maricela Gutierrez is the executive director for Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network in Fresno and in the Bay Area. She said advocates are also asking the U.S. Supreme Court to delay its decision on the program, expected by June.
“Immigrants are essential workers -- they are on the frontlines,” Gutierrez said.
DACA allows people brought to the United States illegally as children to remain in the country. The program also grants young undocumented immigrants two-year working permits.
White House officials did not comment on the issue this week when contacted by The Bee.
Gutierrez said immigrants working on farms, in restaurant kitchens, grocery stores and hospitals shouldn’t have to fear deportation “when they are providing services to our community.”
Trump has fought to end the program he has described as “illegal.” The program was established in 2012 through an executive order from then-President Barack Obama. Trump and other Republican leaders have argued the program is an overreach of executive power.
Without work permits, employers will likely not hire or continue to employ DACA recipients. Fresno city leaders have estimated there are about 5,000 DACA recipients in Fresno.
The Migration Policy Institute said there were about 200,150 DACA recipients across California and nearly 700,000 nationwide as of August 2018.
“We are hoping the court takes a good-faith effort,” Gutierrez said. “We are hoping that they will side with us. Some of them are the breadwinners for their families.”
A 20-year-old DACA recipient in Fresno, who asked not to be named due to fear of deportation, said she recently renewed. But others might not be as fortunate.
The woman, a criminal justice student at Fresno Pacific University who was brought to the United States from Mexico when she was 3 years old, said she hopes the Supreme Court will delay its ruling.
“Especially during these times of quarantine,” she said. “Some individuals are already fearing health concerns. It would just add an additional stress.”
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