Two Valley congressmen are among a group of 6 Republicans asking President Donald Trump to maintain deportation protections for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children.
The president is considering ending the Obama-era program called DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. That allows eligible immigrants to avoid deportation and legally work in the country if they apply with the Federal Government.
President Trump could reportedly decide as soon as tomorrow whether or not to keep those protections in place for the roughly 800,000 immigrants who have signed up.
Valley congressmen Jeff Denham and David Valadao signed onto a letter asking the president not to repeal DACA.
Valadao says it’s unfair to deport those residents since they had no control over moving to the U.S.
“While Congress is not getting to the point of fixing immigration, DACA is the next best thing for these kids. So allowing them to stay in place. Allowing them to work and be productive members of society, I think, is a reasonable approach,” Valadao says
Valadao also says deporting the DACA recipients could cost as much as $60 billion, and that money would be better spent on deporting undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes.
There are an estimated 51,000 DACA eligible residents living in the Central Valley according to the Migration Policy Institute.