Montana’s congressional delegation mixed bag on DACA ruling

“Town Crier” newsletter – Briefs from the Region (2) – 6/19/20

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, was created under the Obama administration in 2012 in the hopes of extending legal protections to about 700,000 young immigrants, allowing the “Dreamers” to continue to work without threat of deportation. President Donald Trump notably campaigned on a promise to terminate the policy. On June 18, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold the program, “with Chief Justice John Roberts joining four more liberal justices in the majority,” reports the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Montana, which is home to 70 DACA recipients as of the end of 2019, is showing signs of party and ideological loyalty following the decision, with Republican Sen. Steve Daines believing Obama abused his power in the creation of DACA and Democratic Sen. Jon Tester saying in a statement, “(This) is welcomed news for the thousands of young folks who were brought to the United States through no choice of their own, and for whom this country is the only home they’ve ever known.” Rep. Greg Gianforte, a Republican and a gubernatorial candidate, believes the decision should have fallen to Congress and agrees Obama’s executive order was unlawful, with Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock,a senatoria =l candidate, voicing support for the decision: “DREAMers belong in our country. Our communities are better & stronger because of them,” Bullock tweeted. “In the Senate, I’ll work across the aisle to secure needed immigration reform that contains a path to citizenship so #DACA recipients don’t face uncertainty any longer.” A silver lining to such split politics amongst Montana’s top public officials: balance.