by Sandy » Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:18 am
You have a law here that doesn't practically apply to anyone eligible for DACA. They are here, supposedly in violation of an immigration law, but their presence wasn't a choice they made, because they were children when they were brought here. The standard, conservative argument focuses on having this kind of law in place, and demanding strict adherence to it because it prevents people from "taking advantage of" the system, collecting welfare, being a burden on the tax system, or opening the doors to criminals to enter the US. But those who are eligible for DACA are, for the most part, gainfully employed, collectively as a group paid something like $6 billion in taxes, some serve in the military, and in order to qualify, you can't have either a criminal record or be on welfare. So that argument is moot.
Sure, some of those in DACA are no longer children. But if you've been here since you were a small child, and this is all you know, it doesn't really matter how old you are, you have become an American in every way except under what are some very pernicious, restrictive immigration laws that are not consistent with American values and principles. In a democratic republic, laws represent the will of the people, at least theoretically, and at some point, politicians become motivated to make changes if they sense that the expression of that will might affect them at the ballot box later on. This appears to be one of those issues on which the volume of popular support will lead to the desired change. No doubt that's why Trump didn't follow through on his campaign promise to eliminate DACA on his first day in the White House, but fobbed it off on Congress with a six month time window on it. In his case, his prejudice against the majority ethnic group involved is a factor. (And perhaps there are still some in Congress who have a good enough memory to note that 80% of the DACA group entered the US during the Bush administration, after tax cuts for the wealthy disabled the ability to adequately stop traffic over the border.)
This is a moral and ethical issue for which Evangelical Christians should be out in front using the heavy weight of Biblical principles and teaching on this issue to advocate for people who have a need and whom they should be supporting without reservation. Sadly, they are placing political loyalty over Biblical principle, while the Christians they love to badmouth as "liberals" are taking the lead and claiming the moral high ground on this issue.