DACA Recipients Can Dream In Peace In Orange County: Report

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Southland community leaders and elected officials praised the U.S. Supreme Court for rejecting President Donald Trump's effort to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Thursday. The Obama-era program, known as DACA, protects some 800,000 immigrants brought into the country illegally as children from deportation.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti commented on the ruling on his Twitter page.

"Today's Supreme Court ruling on DACA delivers a powerful message: this country and this city belong to Dreamers today," Garcetti wrote. "This will remain at your home tomorrow.

"Those who dared to dream are #HereToStay and can rest assured that Los Angeles remains a place of possibility and opportunity," he wrote.

"It was a great day for Dreamers," Rep. Gil Cisneros Jr. of Fullerton said after the ruling was passed. "For me, it's exciting. It's a step in the right direction. It's nice to have the acknowledgment from the Supreme Court that what the president did was wrong and that those kids do deserve to be here, but it's not over yet."

Cisneros said he hopes the U.S. Senate will take up legislation the House has approved to guarantee protection from deportation for DACA recipients.

"Hopefully, the Senate will take this up at some point," Cisneros said. "But one of the frustrating things about being a member of Congress is the lack of activity on the Senate side. They have not done anything in regards to passing legislation that we've passed. There's so much sitting on (Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell's desk right now, so many issues that need to be taken up and DACA is one of those issues."

With Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. leading the majority, the court ruled 5-4 against the administration. It called the decision to cancel the DACA program arbitrary and unjustified.

The program allows young people who were brought to the country as children to register with the government and obtain a work permit if they have clean records.

Coast Community College District Chancellor John Weispfenning stated the ruling, and what it means for his college students.

"Today's Supreme Court decision is a great relief for our students as well as for our faculty and staff who work every day to launch bright careers and fulfilling lives by advancing access to opportunities," Weispfenning wrote. "Our DACA recipients contribute to the rich fabric of our communities in the Coast District and beyond. We succeed together."

Rep. Lou Correa, of Santa Ana, said DACA recipients "have earned the right to the American Dream."

They follow the law, contribute to our economy, pay taxes, and many are doctors, nurses, police officers, firefighter, and serve in our military," he said. "Our community in North Orange County is home to the largest number of Dreamers in America."

His Orange County congressional colleague, Democrat Linda Sanchez, who also represents part of eastern L.A. County, said the Supreme Court ruling was "a spark of hope."

"It brings certainty to thousands of DACA recipients across the country, especially for those Dreamers at the forefront of this legal battle and those working on the frontlines of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Today's decision also reminds us that the Trump administration's racist attempts to scapegoat immigrants are not based on the rule of law and will not prevail."
Sanchez vowed to fight for dreamers "until they have permanent relief and a pathway to citizenship. Washington needs to do the right thing and make the Dream and Promise Act the law of the land. To all the Dreamers, your home is here."

Rep. Katie Porter said the ruling "affirms that the (Trump) administration was wrong to rip protections away from these young people without even attempting a justification. This is a win for our community."

Trump blasted the court's action, calling the DACA decision and other recent rulings "shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or conservatives."

"The recent Supreme Court decisions, not only on DACA, sanctuary cities, Census and other, tell you only one thing, we need NEW JUSTICES of the Supreme Court," Trump wrote on Twitter. "If the radical Left Democrats assume power, your Second Amendment, right-to-life, secure borders and religious liberty, among many other things, are OVER and GONE.

"The DACA decision, while a highly political one, and seemingly not based on the law, gives the president of the United States far more power than EVER anticipated," he wrote. "Nevertheless, I will only act in the best interests of the United States of America! As president of the United States, I am asking for a legal solution on DACA, not a political one, consistent with the rule of law. The Supreme Court is not willing to give us one, so now we have to start this process all over again."

City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig, contributed to this report.