Several Texas senators anticipated that with President Joe Biden taking office and Democrats winning control of Congress, they would have a chance to solidify protections for immigrants who entered the nation as minors under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA). However, with only three weeks remaining in the current legislative session in which the democrats are in charge of both houses, they still have not reached an agreement regarding the immigration deal. Ever since the midterm elections have come to an end, Democrats have been relying on the lame-duck period to enforce some final policies before the new Congress falls into place, and one specific policy includes that which has been drafted in order to protect DACA recipients.
With Texas being home to over 100,000 DACA recipients, the state’s Democrats are concerned that little progress will be achieved in the next congressional session when Republicans will be in charge of the United States House. Despite the fact that Texas Republicans had previously been receptive to a DACA agreement claim, Republicans in the state are rapidly losing interest in negotiating a DACA agreement because they are in favor of measures that would reinforce border security instead.
The immigration “deal” that has been drafted in order to protect DACA recipients is said to possibly extend the controversial Trump-era policy known as Title 42 and outlines a pathway to citizenship for those under Temporary Protected Status, which is over 350,000 people. Many people believe that although there are drafted agreements, the DACA program will soon be determined as unlawful which will put hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients in direct risk.
