Birmingham City Council shows its support for continuing DACA

If the members of the Birmingham City Council have their way, the United States will continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows some young people who were brought into the country illegally as minors to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and eligibility for a work permit.

The council passed a resolution to this effect at its special called meeting for Wednesday, Sept. 13. There was no discussion of the item.

The vote was 7-1 in favor. Councilor Patricia Abbott voted no. Councilor Kim Rafferty did not attend the meeting.

President Barack Obama established DACA in 2012.  On September 5, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions – appointed by Trump – announced that the program would be repealed.

The council’s resolution also encourages the U.S. Congress “to create a permanent path to legal residency for DACA recipients.”

The resolution also states that, thanks to DACA, about 800,000 young people, known as “Dreamers,” “have advanced their education, started small business and more fully established themselves as integral members of American society.”

About 4,180 DACA recipients live in Alabama, with hundreds in Birmingham, according to the text of the resolution.

The council cites statistics from the Center for American Progress which indicates that DACA’s termination would reduce the national GDP by an estimated $433.4 billion over the next 10 years, including $179 million in Alabama.

The special called meeting was held because the council’s regular meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 12, was postponed due to the threat of severe weather.

Several items on today’s agenda, most involving city expenditures, could not be taken up legally at a called meeting and will return to the agenda at the next regular meeting on Sept. 19.