Hodgepodge 311/365 - DACA

That's me with my (borrowed)
sign in the shadow: it read
"DACA ¡YES!"

This afternoon there were simultaneous protests of the Trump administration's decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows some 800,000 (those who applied, though up to 1.6 million might be eligible) individuals who came to the U.S. as children in undocumented families to remain here and work, go to school, serve in the military—in short, live normal, productive lives.

The qualifications to apply for DACA are these: individuals must have entered the United States [illegally] before their sixteenth birthday and prior to June 2007; be currently in school, a high school graduate, or honorably discharged from the military; be under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012, when the program was instituted; and not have been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor or three other misdemeanors, or otherwise pose a threat to national security. The program does not provide lawful status or a path to citizenship, nor does it provide eligibility for federal welfare or student aid. It simply allows people who came here as children and for whom this country is their only home to live freely, without fear of deportation.

David was invited to hold a
sign that read "¡El pueblo
unido jamás será vincido!"

Our little protest at Window on the Bay was attended by maybe 100 (plus five dogs). We got a good response from passing motorists—plus the occasional thumbs-down or shaking head. That's cool. We don't all have to agree. But I wish the government wasn't being run by small-minded, greedy, fear-mongering people (mostly men) who seem hell-bent on destroying so much good and strong about our country. (Next up on the chopping block, for example, seems to be the Endangered Species Act of 1973.) The GOP complain that President Obama went above his authority with DACA—but for years, Congress did nothing. A similar proposal, the DREAM Act, was introduced over and over again since 2001, but never passed. Obama saw the need for this protection. I don't blame him one bit. I blame those Republicans in Congress. All the way. If they really cared about immigration law, they'd long ago have done something to reform it.

I try to stay away from the political here (because I could write a rant pretty much every day, and wouldn't that get tedious). I'm breaking that guideline today because I feel so powerless to fight all the wrong that's happening in this country. But one thing I can do is speak out and up. I can (and do) also donate to worthy causes such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center. I can contact my representatives—and did today, urging my members of Congress (who are already fighting the good fight) not to let the GOP use DACA as a bargaining chip to further defund affordable health care or build Trump's horrible wall. Those politicians on the "red" side of the aisle disgust me, most of them. They seem entirely without humanity, compassion, or morality: rapacity and getting reelected seem to be all they care about.

And finally, I can peacefully protest. As this afternoon. It felt important and right.