Heinrich, Luján challenge Trump ‘targeting’ of DACA recipients for deportation

New Mexico Democratic U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján joined more than 40 Senate Democrats in calling upon U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to make clear that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients have protection from deportation.
DACA is a status conferred through a 2012 federal law that affords immigrants who were brought to the United States as children protection, also known as “dreamers,” from being deported for renewable two-year periods.
According to a news release, theSept. 3 letter to Noemstems from astatementmade by DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in which she said, “Illegal aliens who claim to be recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are not automatically protected from deportation.”
The senators’ letter notes that, “DACA was created to provide protections from immigration enforcement for certain noncitizens brought to the United States as children, also known as Dreamers, who undergo strict background checks and meet specific educational or work requirements. In contrast to Ms. McLaughlin’s puzzling statement, public DHS guidance makes clear that DACA holders are ‘not considered to be unlawfully present’ in the United States and that ‘[a]n individual who has received deferred action is authorized by DHS to be in the United States for the duration of the deferred action period.’”
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexicorecently sued Noem and other federal and local officialsover the arrest and “indefinite” detention of a DACA recipient in a state immigrant detention facility.
The letter urges Noem to correct McLaughlin’s statement “to accurately reflect DACA and ensure that DHS recognizes and abides by the protections of DACA moving forward.”
Heinrich, Luján and other Senate Democratsalso sent a letter earlier this yearto the Trump administration pushing for it to reopen applications for DACA status, following a court ruling that paved the way for them to resume. In July, Heinrichintroduced legislationto protect DACA recipients’ private information.