DACA Recipients Take their Fight to Washington

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The DACA fight is not over and now they want to take it to those who can change things: the Legislators.
Around 300 DACA recipients, Dreamers and immigrant advocates are descending on Washington this week to kick off their lame-duck push for action on immigration. They’re flying in from all over the country — New York, Texas, Nevada, California, Florida, you name it.
Immigrant advocacy groups are calling the campaign the “Week of Action,” in which hundreds of meetings will take place with lobbyists, business and faith leaders, White House officials and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. To name a few, groups have scored meetings with key Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Alex Padilla of California and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, but they’re also starting talks with Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Mike Lee of Utah and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
This isn’t the first DACA push on Washington, but supporters of immigration reform argue that this time, it’s now or never. As DACA recipients remain in legal limbo, advocates and legal experts warn the program is likely headed to the Supreme Court, where the conservative bench seems likely to rule it illegal.
“The writing on the wall is pretty clear that DACA is on its way to end,” said Diana Pliego, a policy associate at the National Immigration Law Center and a DACA recipient. “We need them to feel the urgency that we feel in our daily lives.”
The election results have given advocates a morale boost. A Democratic majority in the Senate and a much slimmer, though likely, GOP majority in the House opens the door for bipartisan discussion during the lame duck, said Will Dempster, a spokesperson at the NILC. But potential GOP control in the House comes January still scrunches the timeline for a deal, advocates warn, making it all the more urgent to pass something in the next few months.