With just over one month left before President Joe Biden hands the presidency back to President-elect Donald Trump, immigration reemerges as a top political issue. Now, a group of senators and activists are urging Biden to take action on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to protect millions of vulnerable individuals who could face the risk of deportation.

“I am a DACA recipient, a prosecutor…and without question, a patriot.”

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Foday Turay testified about his life, career and immigration status.

“I am a DACA recipient, a prosecutor, a husband, and a dad. And without question, a patriot.”

Turay said he was a teenager when he learned from his mother that he lacked legal status to remain in the United States despite having arrived at 7 years old when his family was fleeing “civil unrest.” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., used the opportunity to contrast Turay’s story with the dangerous images of immigrants that conservatives have painted.

‘Protect immigrant families’ by protecting DACA, TPS

Durbin recently joined six of his Senate colleagues in writing a letter to the president urging him to take executive action before leaving office to protect DACA and temporary protected status recipients. DACA is a program launched during the Obama administration that allowed individuals who arrived in the United States as children without legal status, known as Dreamers, to remain in the country and pursue opportunities such as education and careers. TPS, meanwhile, refers to a federal program that allows nationals of countries facing emergency situations to reside in the United States until the crisis within their home country is resolved. Many of the Haitian residents in Ohio who were falsely demonized by Trump and incoming Vice President JD Vance are recipients of TPS protection.

“We urge you to act decisively between now and the inauguration of the President-elect to complete the important work of the past four years and protect immigrant families,” the senators said in their letter to Biden.

Immigration protections face uncertain future under Trump, Republicans

These pleas to Biden come after Trump reiterated his plans for mass deportation and restrictive immigration policies during a recent Meet the Press interview. While doubling down on his pledges to go after those living in the United States without legal status fiercely, and perhaps even their relatives who are legally residing in the country, Trump expressed willingness to make an exception for DACA recipients. However, he also blamed Democrats for the lack of progress on DACA. This stance, and Trump’s past actions against DACA, raise the concern that his interest in Dreamers is more about scoring political points than actually making progress. Meanwhile, conservative efforts to discontinue or roll back these policies are already in motion. For example, a federal ruling earlier this week denied DACA recipients in multiple states healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act, and Florida Republicans are seeking to charge DACA recipients out of state tuition to attend college.

With Trump’s inauguration weeks away, Biden and congressional Democrats will have to act quickly if they want to put protections in place for many of the millions who could face deportation under the new administration. Stories like Turay’s may help push the process along by highlighting the lives in the balance during this policy debate.

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