STAFF EDITORIAL
The editorial board disagrees profoundly with the decision taken by the Trump administration, and asks for reconsideration.
The decision is not well thought out, and it is unnecessary. The individuals protected under the DACA program are prime examples of exemplary U.S citizens.
There is no reason to deny these individuals the opportunity to make America even greater.
In order to even be considered for the program you must have a clean record and must have entered the U.S before turning 16. You must be currently enrolled in school, have graduated, or have been honorably discharged from the armed forces of the United States.
To think that Dreamers are not an important part of our society is ludacris. Dreamers had no choice in the decision to come to America, we cannot punish them for something they had no control over.
Trump attempted to throw ultimate responsibility for his decision on DACA onto Congress. He made it clear that children who were brought to the United States by undocumented immigrants are no longer welcome in the U.S., regardless of their circumstances or contributions to our society.
In an effort to lend validity to the reasons for discontinuing DACA, Attorney General Jeff Sessions made several questionable assertions regarding why DACA was a bad idea to begin with.
In one of his assertions, Sessions accused Obama of overreach, calling Obama’s implementation of DACA an unconstitutional exercise of authority by the executive branch.
The irony is the use of the word overreach, as well as the phrase unconstitutional exercise of authority by the executive branch.
These words could be used to accurately describe Trump’s own method of operating, beginning with the executive order of his ill-fated travel ban shortly after taking office.
Meanwhile, there are some safeguards for Dreamers fortunate enough to be in California.
In memos sent on Sept. 5, both CSU Chancellor Timothy White and CSU Bakersfield President Horace Mitchell reaffirmed their commitments to helping all DACA students.
However, the DACA issue is bigger than CSUB. It is bigger than our city, our state, and even the entire U.S.
This is a world-wide issue, because people from all over the world live and contribute to making America what it is today.
Ending DACA can potentially hinder the growth of the American society.
Trump is ignoring the fact that the more people within our society who are educated and allowed to thrive, the better off we are. Not only as a state or country but as a planet.
He fails to realize that the United States is not an independent island in an ocean of other countries. All countries need resources and cooperation from other countries in order to survive and to thrive.
In his conclusion to the DACA announcement, Sessions, said ”Societies where the rule of law is subject to political whims, and personal biases, tend to become societies afflicted by corruption, poverty, and human suffering.”
President Trump and his Cabinet would do well to heed the words of their own attorney general and reconsider their stance on DACA.
