DACA expiration prompts protests and arrests in Indianapolis

One by one, clergy members from Indianapolis were arrested Tuesday morning as they protested an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

More than a dozen people formed a human chain and illegally blocked traffic on Pennsylvania and Ohio streets before they were arrested.

Sidewalk onlookers cheered and chanted slogans of support while demonstrators were escorted to police cars by law enforcement.

During the protest, which began in front of Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly's office, organizers said they were "fed up by the betrayal" of Sens. Todd Young and Donnelly, who voted last month for Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley's "Secure and Succeed Act." The measure, rejected by the Senate in February, would have limited family-based immigration and provided $25 billion to the Department of Homeland Security.

Young is a Republican; Donnelly a Democrat.

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DACA was formed in 2012 through an executive order by President Barack Obama. It allowed certain people who came to the U.S. illegally as minors to be protected from immediate deportation. President Trump rescinded the policy in September and set a March 5 deadline for a resolution, but a Supreme Court ruling delayed that end date.

Protests were held nationwide Monday and Tuesday.

For Zahyra Arenas, a 29-year-old "Dreamer" and mother of two from Mexico, the Indianapolis event was a chance to explain the level of fear she experiences every day, knowing she could be ripped from her 2-year-old and 4-year-old sons.

The children sat in a corner watching cartoon videos while their mother tearfully explained into a microphone that she must cherish every day with them. Arenas' DACA protection is set to end in December 2019.

"My kids deserve to have a family that is united," she said.

Although President Trump has said he wants America to offer Dreamers a permanent home, he issued a veto threat last month that scuttled a bipartisan deal Congress was considering.

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He has held firm that any deal to spare Dreamers must also come with money for a border wall, tighter limits on legal immigration and restrictions on how immigrants bring family members into the country.

For Dreamers, the latest plot twist brought on by the Supreme Court's action was just the up-and-down nature of life in today's political climate.

Conservatives such as Michael Joyce, the Indiana Republican National Committee spokesman, blame Democrats like Donnelly for "lack of substance on immigration."

“Democrats like Joe Donnelly can only offer empty rhetoric when it comes to DACA," Joyce said. "President Trump offered a deal on immigration reform that included an expansion of Dreamers and a pathway to citizenship, and the Democrats turned it down."

Donnelly told IndyStar he supports bipartisan efforts that will protect DACA recipients and "strengthen our borders." He voted in favor of the bipartisan bill that was vetoed by Trump.

"I will continue working with my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats to find a resolution, though ultimately, Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker Paul Ryan, and President Trump will need to support a commonsense solution too," Donnelly said.

The topic of providing citizenship for "Dreamers" has been a contentious issue in Indiana.

Former Gov. Mike Pence joined in on a lawsuit that opposed the expanded DACA program when it was announced by Obama in November 2014.

Led by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in State of Texas, et al v. United States, with the blessing of Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, Pence called the policy a "profound mistake."

Most recently, Indiana lawmakers have begun discussing revoking professional licenses from individuals protected by DACA.

The Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill Monday that would allow DACA recipients to receive professional and occupational licenses.

Call IndyStar reporter Fatima Hussein at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @fatimathefatima.