As DACA Deadline Passes, Advocates Urge Trump To 'Fix What You Broke'
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
This day, March 5, was supposed to be a deadline. President Trump gave it as a day to end legal protections for undocumented immigrants brought as children. Many in Congress gave it as the day by which they must restore those protections. Congress did not act. But then again, courts have frozen the DACA program for now. NPR's Richard Gonzales reports on what happens next.
RICHARD GONZALES, BYLINE: Immigrant rights activists want to keep the pressure on the White House and Congress to come up with a program to replace DACA. This weekend, the ACLU and other groups launched a national TV ad campaign reminding President Trump of his past promises.
(SOUNDBITE OF AD)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We are going to deal with DACA with heart because, you know, I love these kids. I love kids.
GONZALES: The ad features images of a mother holding her crying daughter, a DREAMer in distress. In bold letters across the screen, there's a message that reads, Trump, time to share the love. Millions of lives are at stake. You killed DACA. Then you derailed three bipartisan plans to fix it. The last line is a reference to the stalled-out negotiations in Congress, which failed to meet the March 5 deadline set by Trump. Faiz Shakir is a national political director for the American Civil Liberties Union.
FAIZ SHAKIR: There's a concern that the March 5 deadline could die with a whimper rather than a bang. And by that I mean, people might have simply forgotten that DREAMers were left in this state of limbo and that no action was taken to save them.
GONZALES: Last week, the Supreme Court left two nationwide injunctions in place preventing Trump from ending DACA while the issue is in the courts. That took all the momentum out of efforts in Washington to extend protections to nearly 2 million undocumented DREAMers who came here as young children, including the 700,000 DACA recipients. Sanaa Abrar is a spokeswoman for United We Dream, a D.C.-based advocacy group for the DREAMers.
SANAA ABRAR: It's been quite a roller coaster ride of anxiety for a lot of our membership. And I would say at this point, there are a few reasons why we still view March 5 as a very critical date.
GONZALES: For one thing, the government isn't accepting new applications. Also, even though the courts say DACA recipients can apply for a renewal, they run the risk of being detained if their status has lapsed and their applications are still being processed. But forcing a quick end to the political stalemate isn't likely, says Mark Krikorian. He's director of the D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates immigration limits.
MARK KRIKORIAN: Until there is a new deadline, neither side has leverage.
GONZALES: Conservatives oppose DACA, saying it amounts to amnesty. And Trump has said he would only grant DACA recipients a path to citizenship in exchange for reductions in legal immigration, a non-starter for Democrats. So immigrant activists are trying to keep the focus on their cause. One way is with frequent Facebook Live events that broadcast videos of demonstrations large and small, like this one in Chicago.
(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Chanting) Undocumented.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Unafraid.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Chanting) Undocumented.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Unafraid.
GONZALES: A coalition of DREAMer groups will march to Capitol Hill today to press Congress to act. Similar actions are planned in at least eight states. Richard Gonzales, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF DABRYE'S "D-TOWN TABERNACLE CHOIR")
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