March 5 DACA Deadline: Protest Rallies of Support and a Lack of Answers

Since September of 2017, President Trump has been vocal about not renewing DACA. Other bipartisan solutions have been purposed but with no success. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) commented in an interview with ABC7Chicago on how much of this gridlock was on Trump’s unwillingness to cooperate. For reference, one of these potential solutions, Trump said he would only approve if Congress allowed it to also fund his border wall.

While many people across the country called into their local representative’s office to voice their opinion for or against another renewal of DACA, colleges are working with their undocumented students to help them stay at school and in the United States. Among these is Harvard who hired a full time staff attorney to serve its undocumented students (for both those eligible for DACA and those ineligible for it). In addition to working to renew as many students under DACA, their attorney gave each student an individual consultation to see if any permanent solution existed beyond DACA or TPS. Rutgers University hosted a rally on campus for people to join in solidarity. This consisted of a demonstration on campus and a walk to the regional Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. Many of the people who spoke noted that states have some power to protect their undocumented residents-Most notably cities have taken a stance as a sanctuary city or California that recently voted to become a sanctuary state.

While this March 5th deadline symbolizes little more than political inaction, for those protected under DACA, this lack of renewal means they sit in a state of limbo. Many who are still waiting for renewal could temporarily lose jobs and drivers licenses or face threats of deportation.