Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Biden to Meet DACA Recipients in Immigration Overhaul Push
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
May 14, 2021

Share

President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet Friday with six immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children who benefited from an Obama-era policy that protected them from deportation.

The Oval Office meeting comes as Biden looks to press Congress to pass legislation codifying the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that then-President Barack Obama instituted by executive action in 2012, providing limited protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

As a candidate, Biden promised to protect those often described as “dreamers” and their families by reinstating DACA.

Biden Calls for Immigration Reform With Pathway to Citizenship

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in March his agency was issuing a rule to “preserve and fortify DACA,” but the policy faces a Texas court challenge that could invalidate the protections established under Obama. Former President Donald Trump tried to phase out the program. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that Trump could end it but he did so improperly.

Biden has made a broader call for immigration reform that centers on establishing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, an effort that faces tough odds in a closely divided Congress. But he’s made clear that passing legislation enshrining DACA — which has wide, bipartisan support from the American public — should be the floor for action on immigration.

“If you don’t like my plan, let’s at least pass what we all agree on,” Biden said in his address before the joint session of Congress last month. “Congress needs to pass legislation this year to finally secure protection for dreamers — the young people who have only known America as their home.”

Julie Rodriguez, the White House director for intergovernmental affairs, said in a tweet that the DACA recipients Biden will meet with include teachers, health care workers and farm workers who “have been on the frontlines throughout this pandemic keeping our communities safe, educated, and fed.”

DACA Recipients

Those invited, according to the White House, include:

— Maria Praeli, an immigrant rights advocate who moved to the U.S. from Peru when she was 5 so her sister could receive medical treatment.

— Esmeralda Tovar-Mora, who arrived in Kansas from Mexico when she was only 18 months old. She is attending college while working as a case manager for a mental health center and a medication aide at a nursing home. She is the mother of a 3-year-old and her husband serves in the Kansas National Guard.

— Astou Thiane, an educator and DACA advocate, who immigrated from Senegal when she was 7 and only learned of her immigration status when she was applying for college.

— Leydy Rangel, the daughter of migrant farm workers in California. She now works with a nonprofit advocacy group assisting immigrants, farm workers and Latinos in rural California.

— Jrayut “New” Latthivongskorn, who came from Thailand when he was 9 and is now a second-year medical resident in San Francisco.

— Karen Reyes, whose mother brought her to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 2. She is now a kindergarten teacher for students who are hard of hearing or deaf.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Man Dies After Rescuing His 2 Children in Mississippi River

DON'T MISS

Is Inflation Finally Corralled? Powell Says Federal Reserve Believes It’s Close

DON'T MISS

New Village Green Park Opens in Loma Vista as Clovis Community Hub

DON'T MISS

Gomez Guilty of Murdering Los Hooligans Bass Player

DON'T MISS

Biden Says It Was a Mistake to Say He Wanted to Put Trump in a ‘Bull’s-Eye’

DON'T MISS

Dealing Blow to Biden’s Reelection Bid, Teamsters Union May Withhold Endorsement

DON'T MISS

Tesla CEO Elon Musk Appears to Confirm Delay in Aug. 8 Robotaxi Unveil Event to Make Design Change

DON'T MISS

Smittcamp Asks Court to Drop His Lawsuit Against Controversial NW Fresno Project

DON'T MISS

Measure P Arts Grants Spark Debate and a Meeting Tonight

DON'T MISS

Tedford Exits Fresno State Football. Tim Skipper Is the Next Bulldog Up.

UP NEXT

The Supreme Court Rules for Biden Administration in a Social Media Dispute with Conservative States

UP NEXT

Immigrant Families Rejoice Over Biden’s Expansive Move Toward Citizenship, While Some Are Left Out

UP NEXT

Secret Service Agent Robbed at Gunpoint During Biden’s Los Angeles Trip, Police Say

UP NEXT

Biden and Gun Control Advocates Want to Flip an Issue Long Dominated by the NRA

UP NEXT

AP-NORC Poll: Americans Divided on Biden’s Student Loan Policies, Including Borrowers

UP NEXT

Biden Prepares an Order That Would Shut Down Asylum if a Daily Average of 2,500 Migrants Arrive

UP NEXT

Biden Details a 3-Phase Hostage Deal Aimed at Winding Down the Israel-Hamas War

UP NEXT

Biden Partially Lifts Ban on Ukraine Using US Arms in Strikes on Russian Territory, US Officials Say

UP NEXT

Biden, Harris to Launch Black Voter Outreach Effort Amid Signs of Diminished Support

UP NEXT

White House Pushes Tech Industry to Shut Down Market for Sexually Abusive AI Deepfakes

Gomez Guilty of Murdering Los Hooligans Bass Player

2 hours ago

Biden Says It Was a Mistake to Say He Wanted to Put Trump in a ‘Bull’s-Eye’

2 hours ago

Dealing Blow to Biden’s Reelection Bid, Teamsters Union May Withhold Endorsement

4 hours ago

Tesla CEO Elon Musk Appears to Confirm Delay in Aug. 8 Robotaxi Unveil Event to Make Design Change

4 hours ago

Smittcamp Asks Court to Drop His Lawsuit Against Controversial NW Fresno Project

5 hours ago

Measure P Arts Grants Spark Debate and a Meeting Tonight

6 hours ago

Tedford Exits Fresno State Football. Tim Skipper Is the Next Bulldog Up.

6 hours ago

Biden Orders Secret Service to Protect RFK Jr. After Attempt on Trump’s Life

6 hours ago

Trump Receives Enough Delegate Votes to Officially be Republicans’ Nominee

7 hours ago

Who is JD Vance? Things to Know About Donald Trump’s Pick for Vice President

7 hours ago

Man Dies After Rescuing His 2 Children in Mississippi River

A Minnesota man who disappeared Friday while rescuing his two young children from the rain-swollen Mississippi River was found dead by autho...

52 mins ago

52 mins ago

Man Dies After Rescuing His 2 Children in Mississippi River

1 hour ago

Is Inflation Finally Corralled? Powell Says Federal Reserve Believes It’s Close

2 hours ago

New Village Green Park Opens in Loma Vista as Clovis Community Hub

2 hours ago

Gomez Guilty of Murdering Los Hooligans Bass Player

2 hours ago

Biden Says It Was a Mistake to Say He Wanted to Put Trump in a ‘Bull’s-Eye’

4 hours ago

Dealing Blow to Biden’s Reelection Bid, Teamsters Union May Withhold Endorsement

4 hours ago

Tesla CEO Elon Musk Appears to Confirm Delay in Aug. 8 Robotaxi Unveil Event to Make Design Change

5 hours ago

Smittcamp Asks Court to Drop His Lawsuit Against Controversial NW Fresno Project

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend