KING CITY — The City of King has officially expressed its support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which grants a temporary reprieve from deportation for so-called “Dreamers,” immigrants who were brought into the country as children by their parents.
King City Council unanimously approved a letter endorsing the program at its Oct. 10 meeting. In doing so, King City becomes the third city in Monterey County to officially declare its support; the cities of Greenfield and Soledad as well as the County of Monterey recently passed resolutions supporting DACA.
The letter, drafted by Mayor Mike LeBarre and Mayor Pro Tem Carlos Victoria, urges local Congressional officials to adopt legislation enabling DACA residents to continue to live and work in the United States.
“The City of King City Council supports your efforts to find a way to allow recipients under the DACA program, who have followed the rules, to live and work in the country without fear of deportation,” the letter states. “Our community is home to many under DACA and (we) believe our residents deserve a safe community where all are valued and respected.”
The DACA program — introduced by former President Barack Obama in 2012 — permits certain individuals who came to the United States as undocumented juveniles to request a temporary reprieve from deportation known as “deferred action.” The program has allowed more than 230,000 undocumented residents of California — nearly 800,000 in total nationwide — who entered the country as minors to apply to receive legal work permits and contribute to the nation’s economic growth.
On Sept. 5, President Donald Trump announced that he would repeal the program after a six-month period, urging Congress to find a replacement in the meantime. The Trump administration will begin phasing out DACA on March 5, 2018.
According to King City’s letter to Congress, the council will “support and defend your vote on any legislation that accomplishes the most important goal of a legal mechanism that provides DACA recipients a way to stay in the country without fear of deportation.”
“We support the rule of law, our constitution, and rights we all enjoy as free individuals of the world’s greatest country,” the letter continues. “Now is the time to act and urge a quick resolution and vote to allow DACA recipients to stay in our country and our communities.”
Copies of the letter have been sent to Congressman Jimmy Panetta and Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris.
