As Congress faces down a self-imposed deadline to avoid an end-of-the-year government shutdown, across the nation, 800,000 young Dreamers’ futures are fraught with uncertainty.
Will Congress manage to put aside its acrimony and broker a deal regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to allow these young adults some semblance of security? While many are unmarried students without dependents, others have children that were born American citizens. For them, fractured families could be part of the collateral damage of a failure of Congress to reach accord.
Although DACA is not set to actually expire until March 2018, President Trump has linked the fate of the Dreamers to this government funding proposal. Some GOP politicians allege that they were assured of a fix in exchange for their recent votes on tax reform. But it appears that the crawfishing has already begun, as Republican leaders seem content to put the matter on the back burner until closer to the hard March deadline.
If you are a Dreamer who is also a parent, you face another set of concerns regarding the fate of your American-born children. Parents who may face deportation need to be proactive about the custody of these children with American citizenship. It’s just not prudent to leave something so vital in the hands of an often-hapless Congress.
While it’s fine to remain optimistic about your future here in the United States, it’s wise to have a contingency plan in place in the event the bottom falls out of your world. Who would assume custody of your child if you face deportation next year? A Maricopa County family law attorney can review various custodial possibilities with you that may ease your mind to some degree.
Source: Salon, “Republicans are ready to break their promise to Dreamers,” Sophia Tesfaye, Dec. 05, 2017