Phoenix mayor standing by DACA-eligible residents as deadline looms

PHOENIX — The mayor of Phoenix he said he would stand by residents eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program as President Donald Trump neared a deadline to eliminate it.

“I am urging President Trump to continue DACA for the good of our cities, our families and our country,” Greg Stanton said Tuesday.

“It was not their choice to come here. They were brought here because of their family, etc. They are doing the right things — going to college, joining the military, etc. They are the future of our city.”

Trump has until Tuesday to make his decision on the program. Stanton said if the worst happens, meaning DACA is repealed, he will continue fighting for in-state tuition rates for those who were eligible.

“Forcing young people to pay out-of-state tuition, young people who grew up here and have lived here their entire lives, is completely self-defeating,” he said. “It would hurt [Phoenix’s] goal of creating a higher education workforce.”

DACA began under then-President Barack Obama in 2012. It does not provide lawful status or a path to citizenship.

While Stanton stood by those eligible for the program, he said the United States should do more when it comes to immigration.

“What we need is comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship, so that we can get this issue over with once and for all,” he said.

To be eligible for DACA, immigrants must have entered the United States before their 16th birthday and before June 2007.

They have to either be in school, a high school graduate or be honorably discharged from the military, be under 31 as of June 15, 2015, and have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor or otherwise pose a threat to national security.

People must apply and pay a $500 application fee.

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