The Gazette: Supporters of immigrant kids mount frantic push

With prospects dimming for a deal this year to prevent young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation, sympathetic groups plan to push hard the next few weeks to force the issue back to the top of Washington’s agenda.

Activists see their December bid as their last, best shot to save about 800,000 young immigrants protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program from being deported.

They face a tough challenge, with the White House distracted by tax legislation and Congress reluctant to act quickly to save the program.

Calling it illegal, the administration announced in September that DACA would be terminated after six months to give Congress time to pass a legislative fix that might allow the young immigrants here illegally to stay in the only country many of them have ever known.

The new initiatives to save DACA starts this week, when caravans of the young immigrants will start arriving in Washington. Activists are planning rallies in front of the White House, sit-ins on Capitol Hill and, possibly, other acts of civil disobedience.

“People are throwing everything at the wall because they see this as the moment,” said Jeremy Robbins, executive director of the Partnership for a New American Economy, which is working with Republicans and Democrats who support protecting DACA beneficiaries.

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