A Conservative and a Liberal Agree on Ending DACA

Might ending DACA be a first step toward immigration reform?

Earlier this week, President Trump announced that he was giving Congress six months to “legalize DACA,” or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This controversial government program was created by President Obama’s executive order that delayed deportation of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States at age sixteen and younger. Trump threatened that if Congress took no action, he would “revisit the issue.” Given other remarks from members of his administration, many took this as a signal that Trump would end DACA within six months.

Preemptive protests against this assumed action began almost immediately. National figures from both sides of the aisle stressed the need for these young undocumented immigrants covered by DACA to receive protection, as many of them had simply accompanied their parents to America and had not chosen to break the law. However, from this point of agreement on policy, the debate devolved into a referendum on DACA itself.

We think this is the wrong direction for our national discussion on this important issue, and we chose to write this article to explain why. We differ in our ideology: Connor is a conservative on most matters of policy, while Andy leans to the left. Nevertheless, we agree that Republicans, Democrats and centrists alike should be on board with ending DACA and replacing it with a legislative solution to our ongoing immigration problem. We both believe that this prospective replacement is preferable to DACA’s continued existence as authorized by an executive order, and while our reasons for that belief differ, it serves as an important starting point for this discussion.