BEND, OR -- DACA, or the Dreamer's Act as it's often called, was one topic of the protest that took place in front of a Downtown Bend bank yesterday.
Kathy Roche, one of the protest participants, held a sign expressing her desire to see the new Dream Act that's currently before Congress passed, but she's worried. "It's kind of a silly idea to punish children for the acts of their parents, but it's unknown whether Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan will allow it to come to the floor."
Roche says that Immigration should be a topic important to all of us. "Immigration is the responsibility of Congress and DACA was an Executive Order signed by President Obama and Trump has undone that Executive Order, so it's time for Congress to take action and pass the Dream Act."
Roche says the Dream Act currently before Congress is available for review on 'Countable' the app designed to connect users directly with Congress to make their voices heard. Roche says the original program should be replaced by a law voted on by Congress, so it can actually help those it's supposed to help. "It will depend upon the language in the final law, if it's passed, and whether they structure it such that it will hold up against a Supreme Court challenge...I'd guess that's part of the Dream Act, I haven't read it all word-for-word."
DACA was penned by President Barack Obama in 2012 as an Executive Order, but it has had its own controversy, as it's only a policy and not a law voted on by Congress. In early September, President Donald Trump shut down the DACA Program and tasked the US Congress with drafting a suitable replacement.
