The Coachella Valley Number ‘One’ Desert Local Newspaper
desert
STAR W E E K L Y
PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID Desert Hot Springs, CA
100-lb Donut Delights in the Desert, see page 14
PERMIT NO 00005
September 6, 2017 Vol. 10 No. 71
Ending DACA Trump gives Congress 6-month deadline on immigrant youths program By Desert Star Staff The Trump administration said it will phase out the Obama-era program protecting from deportation some 800,000 illegal immigrants who were underage when they arrived. The US Congress will have six months to pass a law regulating their status. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the decision on Tuesday at the Department of Justice.
“This policy was implemented unilaterally to great controversy and legal concern after Congress rejected legislative proposals to extend similar benefits on numerous occasions to this same group of illegal aliens,” Sessions said, calling the measure a “unilateral executive amnesty” that deliberately circumvented the legislative process. The Department of Homeland Security has
been asked to conduct an “orderly, lawful winddown” of the program, Sessions said, calling DACA “unconstitutional” in character. “There is nothing compassionate about the failure to enforce immigration laws,” the AG added. Congress will have six months to pass a law that would regulate the status of people who were brought into the US illegally as children.
Under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, some 800,000 of them were granted temporary protection from deportation by President Barack Obama’s executive action in 2012. No one currently on DACA will be impacted before March 5, 2018, “so Congress can have time to deliver on appropriate legislative solutions,” acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine
Duke said in a statement. Legislative efforts to resolve the status of underage illegal immigrants go back to 2001, when Senator Dick Durbin (R-Illinois) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) proposed the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. This is why DACA recipients are often referred to as “Dreamers.” In addition to the minority Continues on Page 12
Harvey: One Week after Landfall
42,000+ People in Red Cross and Partner Shelters WASHINGTON, -- One week after Harvey made landfall in Texas, the American Red Cross continues to work around the clock to help thousands affected by Hurricane Harvey as catastrophic flooding continues along the Gulf Coast. Tens of thousands of people are escaping the devastation in hundreds of Red Cross and community shelters, many having lost everything except what they could carry as they fled their flooded neighborhoods. “I was in Texas this week and met many survivors of
this catastrophic storm who have lost everything but are still resilient and grateful to be safe, and for the help they are receiving thanks to generous donations from the American people,” said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. “I also saw the work or our incredible volunteers and partners working around the clock to deliver comfort, care and hope. We are providing emergency relief right now, and as these days turn into weeks, we’ll work with individuals and families to help them get back on their feet.”
While in Texas, McGovern described how financial donations are being used. “Huge disasters like Hurricane Harvey are extremely difficult, but we always strive to
do the right thing. Americans work hard for their money, and we’re committed to being the very best stewards of our donor’s dollars. We keep our expenses low, and 91 cents of
every dollar we spend for this disaster will go to help people affected by Hurricane Harvey. We are very proud of the Continues on Page 7