Just as a partisan Congress has taken the first steps to undo health care for millions of Americans, a bipartisan effort is underway to help another group immediately endangered by the new administration: the undocumented students currently protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program.
Called the “Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy Act,” or “BRIDGE Act,” the law will give students temporary protection from deportation, and allow work permits to continue without interruption.
“Even the president-elect himself has said that something has to be done to help DREAMers, and I agree, because their fear should not overshadow their contributions,” said Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., one of the original co-sponsors of the bill and leader of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. “Young immigrants that are already here and contributing deserve the chance to see and prove that hard work can make a difference.”
While Trump has somewhat softened his stand on immigration, saying he would deport criminals first, the president-elect’s campaign rhetoric spoke of the ease of eliminating President Obama’s executive orders on the first day of a Trump administration.
DACA was placed into existence by executive order.
Already, the bipartisan effort to protect DACA has received backing by 88 CEOs from Illinois, Florida and Colorado who have sent a letter to President-Elect Trump urging him to spare DACA.
