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 4 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

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

DON'T MISS

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

DON'T MISS

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

DON'T MISS

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

DON'T MISS

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

DON'T MISS

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

DON'T MISS

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

DON'T MISS

Warriors Guard De’Anthony Melton to Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery

UP NEXT

Biden Considers Controversial Pardon for Son Hunter Despite Public Denials

UP NEXT

New Rules for US National Security Agencies Balance AI’s Promise With Need to Protect Against Risks

UP NEXT

Supreme Court Will Hear a Challenge to a Biden Administration Rule on Ghost Guns

UP NEXT

Biden Talks Election, Economy and Middle East in Surprise News Briefing

UP NEXT

Biden’s Student Loan Cancellation Is Put on Hold Again After Day of Legal Whiplash

UP NEXT

Biden Administration Tightens Border Security with Stricter Asylum Rules

UP NEXT

House Republicans Move to Hold Blinken in Contempt Over Afghanistan Testimony

UP NEXT

Biden in Farewell U.N. Address Says Peace Still Possible in Conflicts in Mideast and Ukraine

UP NEXT

House Backs Measure to Overturn Biden Auto Emissions Rule That Republicans Say Would Force EV Sales

UP NEXT

Treasury Recovers $1.3 Billion in Unpaid Taxes From High Wealth Tax Dodgers

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

1 hour ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

1 hour ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

1 hour ago

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

2 hours ago

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

3 hours ago

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

3 hours ago

Warriors Guard De’Anthony Melton to Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery

3 hours ago

Massive Ground Beef Recall Affects Restaurants Nationwide, USDA Warns

3 hours ago

Chris Stapleton Wins 4 CMA Awards, but Morgan Wallen Is Entertainer of the Year

3 hours ago

These Fresno Schools Are Unsafe and in Bad Condition. And No One Is Complaining

3 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. edged closer to 7% this week, climbing to its highest level since July. The rate rose to ...

7 minutes ago

7 minutes ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

12 minutes ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

32 minutes ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

1 hour ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

1 hour ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

Fresno motorcycle cop enforces the 45 mph speed limit
1 hour ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

2 hours ago

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

3 hours ago

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend