So let’s assume we have a dreamer who is in his late 20s, maybe even older, whose parents snuck him in when he was 1. Can anyone explain why that person has not bothered to become a U. S. citizen in the last decade or so, since he turned 18 and became an adult? Can anyone justify why he shouldn’t be removed, along with the parents that snuck him in?
Sure I’ll tell you how that might happen. Because you don’t just walk in to the citizenship convenience store and pick up a green card. Have you any clue how hard it is to get legal status from within the country?
And what’s with the assumption that parents are bringing children here? My daughter’s father was brought here as human cargo with a shipment of young boys when he was 12. WHY did he not become a US citizen? Because this isn’t a movie. You don’t just get what you ask just because you ask. It takes money and a sponsor who can guarantee financial support and it takes years. During that time you can be deported as ICE sees fit, regardless of your situation or how hard you’ve worked or where you are in the process.
Because the Dream Act never passed in all it’s various forms going back to 2001.
Why do you think Obama went the Executive Order route?
If I were President I’d have done the same thing.
The President has every right to set enforcement priorities, but no power to issue work permits to aliens that are not lawfully present.
I have very little respect for Trump’s understanding of the law, but in this case, perhaps due to the stopped-clock-right-twice-per-day principle, he’s right. President Obama’s program was unlawful and needed to be stopped.
The distinction between formalized prosecutorial discretion not to remove someone and the same discretion not enforce work permit laws against them is not different in kind.
I have yet to hear a coherent account of prosecutorial discretion that explains why someone would draw the line there beyond political expediency.
I can see why you might draw the line at any formal and public linedrawing. The problem with that is that we have done it forever, so it is tougher to make a constitutional argument that it is forbidden.
Meant to add this link: SSRN Temporarily Unavailable
Because you apparently have no idea whatsoever how the U.S. immigration system works, here’s a very brief primer. Do you seriously think that people who managed to provide the extensive supporting documentation needed for an initial DACA application wouldn’t bother to fill out the form for a citizenship application, which in most cases requires next to no supporting documentation(hint: except for a copy of your green card, because you need to be a permanent resident, aka green card holder, for years before you are even eligible to apply for citizenship)?