DACA, TPS, and four reasons why we should welcome immigrants.

Judge Alsup's January 9 ruling to block the Trump regime from ending DACA, and allowing Dreamers to stay, was a victory. But don't pop the champagne cork just yet.

DACA stands for “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals”. Minors who were brought to the U.S. Illegally are affected by DACA. This group, called Dreamers, has been allowed to stay in the U.S. even though they came in illegally, because they were children at the time of arrival, and should not be held responsible for their parents' act. Many Dreamers did not know they did not have legal immigration status until they were grown and faced with grown up things, such as college, financial aid, job hunting, and, even getting a driver's license.

Trump ended DACA renewals. Judge Alsup's order blocked Trump's end to DACA, but only ended it temporarily and only with some additional hoops to jump through. Trump and his Department of Justice will likely appeal Judge Alsup's order, and may well request a stay in upholding the order pending a final ruling. Also, the ruling gives USCIS time to begin accepting DACA renewals again. I was not able to find out when that will happen.

Also this month, the Trump regime ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from El Salvador. This at the same time as the state department issued travel advisories to El Salvador because of its crime rate and is now listed as unsafe. Safe enough to deport people to – not safe enough to visit. The removal of protected status affects about 200,000 refugees from El Salvador who have been told to find another way to stay in the U.S. or face deportation.

And or January 9, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided ninety-eight 7-11 stores in search of illegal immigrants. The raids yielded a whopping 21 arrests. I wonder what that cost the tax payers. The convenience store raids were apparently meant to punish employers who ignore the rules about hiring illegal immigrants.

1. Immigrants help keep the work force young. The U.S. does not want to be an aging nation with an aging work force. The largest group of U.S. residents is baby boomers, and those boomers are getting old. We need new young people to work to keep the economy growing and vibrant.
2. Immigrants help keep the birth rate high. The lower the mother's educational level the more babies she will have. The U.S. needs more babies to grow up and become the next work force.
3. Humanitarian. Allowing immigrants into America is the right thing to do. We have the physical space. There is no reason to keep our beautiful country to ourselves.
4. The U.S. Is a country of immigrants. Most natural born U.S. citizens cannot trace their family origins in the U.S. more than a couple of generations back.

I support immigration and have little tolerance for illegal immigration. In general, I believe if people want to come to the U.S. they should come legally or not at all. But, I also recognize extenuating circumstances. Some people are eligible but unable to pay the fees. For that reason, we created our FALDP Get Documented Initiative. Our document preparers can refer people for a low interest loan to cover their immigration needs. The available loan amount is between $700 and $20,000, and is based on the consumer's banking history.