Lawrence University: Hosting community forum on status of DACA

APPLETON, WIS. — In the wake of President Trump’s announcement rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Lawrence University will host a community forum to address questions and concerns regarding that decision.

Madison-based immigration attorney Mónica Santa María will lead the program “Rescission of DACA: Understanding the Current Immigration Environment” Thursday, Sept. 14 at 5:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema, 711 E. Boldt Way. The event is free and open to the public.

During her presentation, Santa María will provide background on the DACA program, including the status of various active lawsuits filed both against the program and against its rescission. She’ll also discuss the differences between the benefits provided by DACA (prosecutorial discretion) and legal status, and action steps for DACA beneficiaries and their family members. A question-and-answer session will conclude the program.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, Santa María opened her own law firm earlier this year. She began her law career in 2008 with the Madison office of Godfrey & Kahn, where she worked with the firm’s labor and employment group, focusing on immigration law. Prior to attending law school, she worked as a Spanish-English medical interpreter in various clinics and hospitals in the Madison area. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree from MIT.

In announcing plans to rescind DACA, an executive order issued by then President Obama in 2012, Trump gave Congress six months to come up with a new program that would address the status of an estimated 800,000 children and young adults who were brought to the United States illegally by their parents to live and work here. The DACA program was created to provide the so-called “Dreamers” with a shield against deportation.