© 2024 KVPR | Valley Public Radio - White Ash Broadcasting, Inc. :: 89.3 Fresno / 89.1 Bakersfield
89.3 Fresno | 89.1 Bakersfield
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
76 new monthly members to go to reach our March goal! Start a new monthly gift today, or increase your existing monthly donation to help us reach the goal.

Two Valley Republican Congressmen Sign Letter Opposing DACA Repeal

Office of Rep. David Valadao

Two Valley congressmen are among a group of 6 Republicans asking President Donald Trump to maintain deportation protections for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children.

The president is considering ending the Obama-era program called DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. That allows eligible immigrants to avoid deportation and legally work in the country if they apply with the Federal Government.

President Trump could reportedly decide as soon as tomorrow whether or not to keep those protections in place for the roughly 800,000 immigrants who have signed up.

Valley congressmen Jeff Denham and David Valadao signed onto a letter asking the president not to repeal DACA.

Valadao says it’s unfair to deport those residents since they had no control over moving to the U.S.

“While Congress is not getting to the point of fixing immigration, DACA is the next best thing for these kids. So allowing them to stay in place. Allowing them to work and be productive members of society, I think, is a reasonable approach,” Valadao says

Valadao also says deporting the DACA recipients could cost as much as $60 billion, and that money would be better spent on deporting undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes.

There are an estimated 51,000 DACA eligible residents living in the Central Valley according to the Migration Policy Institute.

Jeffrey Hess is a reporter and Morning Edition news host for Valley Public Radio. Jeffrey was born and raised in a small town in rural southeast Ohio. After graduating from Otterbein University in Columbus, Ohio with a communications degree, Jeffrey embarked on a radio career. After brief stops at stations in Ohio and Texas, and not so brief stops in Florida and Mississippi, Jeffrey and his new wife Shivon are happy to be part Valley Public Radio.