Advocates Rally, Opponents Threaten Lawsuit After 5 Years Of DACA

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Publish Date:
August 15, 2017
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KQED News - The California Report
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Summary

Supporters of undocumented immigrants in San Francisco and Los Angeles rallied Tuesday on the fifth anniversary of the Obama-era program offering protection from deportation and work permits for some 750,000 people who were brought to the United States as children.

More than 50 people converged on McKesson Plaza in San Francisco’s Financial District and dozens joined together at Vista Hermosa Natural Park in downtown Los Angeles to voice their support for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — or DACA — which has allowed more than 200,000 Californians to avoid deportation in the past five years.

“It’s a real challenge to weigh the risks and benefits,” said Jayashri Srikantiah, the director of the Immigration Rights’ Clinic at Stanford Law School. “It’s a real gamble to apply and make yourself known to the authorities.”

Srikantiah said a potential lawsuit by states challenging DACA could be a tough sell since the program has been operating for five years, but that doesn’t mean a judge couldn’t temporarily freeze DACA if a suit was filed, which she said “would deal a significant blow” to the program.

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