These comments set the tone for the entire immigration debate throughout the 2016 campaign and beyond. There was very little substance beyond building a wall, which Mexico would pay for, and deporting every last undocumented immigrant, regardless of their contributions to American society.<\/p>\n
President Barack Obama later signed a series of executive orders, including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy that allowed young people who came to the U.S. as children to remain in the country legally.<\/p>\n Keep in mind that these are people who, by and large, know no other country. They may have been born elsewhere, but in every other sense, they are as American as anyone else.<\/p>\n In a border region such as San Diego, this is a serious issue with far reaching repercussions.<\/p>\n On July 10, U.S. Rep. Juan Vargas (D-53)<\/strong> convened an Immigration Town Hall at the Sherman Heights Community Center. The conversation essentially centered around what people affected by our current immigration limbo can do to protect themselves from deportation.<\/p>\n Among those who are currently being subjected to deportation status are military veterans who have served honorably in our armed services.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the founding of our country we have depended and relied on non-citizens to join our armed forces and fight our wars, and we\u2019ve told them if you are willing to give your life for this country, we\u2019ll let you vote,\u201d said Nathan Fletcher, the veterans\u2019 advocate who has announced his candidacy for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.<\/p>\n Fletcher, a 10-year Marine Corps veteran, was under the impression that veterans cannot be deported. When immigrants are recruited, he said, they are given the promise of citizenship.<\/p>\n \u201cOne day of military service in a theater of war and they are eligible for citizenship,\u201d he said. And yet over 300 veterans from 30 countries have been deported. \u201cThey have been honorably discharged, but dishonorably deported,\u201d Fletcher said.<\/p>\n DACA \u2014 which the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Department says has over 1.4 million people enrolled<\/a> \u2014 was the other major topic of discussion. The program, enacted by executive order, is still in effect, but no one really knows for how long. The problem is that President Trump could, at any time, decide to rescind the executive order and remove protections from DACA recipients.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s literally nothing that Democrats can do if the president decided to deport these [recipients]. Because it was an executive order, he could simply reverse the order,\u201d Vargas said. \u201cSadly, the president has the authority to deport these people if he wants to. I think it\u2019s counterproductive.\u201d The only thing Democrats can do, he said, is to \u201cplead with him not to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Darrell Issa (R-49)<\/strong> strongly rebuked Attorney General Jeff Sessions\u2019 loosened policy on civil asset forfeitures<\/a>. The policy allows government agencies to permanently seize the private assets of people merely suspected of a crime, with no recourse if the case proved unfounded. \u201cWith care and professionalism, we plan to develop policies to increase forfeitures,\u201d Session said in remarks to the National District Attorneys Association.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a troubling decision for the due process protections afforded to us under the Fourth Amendment as well as the growing consensus we\u2019ve seen nationwide on this issue,\u201d Issa said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cCriminals shouldn\u2019t be able to keep the proceeds of their crime, but innocent Americans shouldn\u2019t lose their right to due process, or their private property rights in order to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n In other Issa news, members of Issa\u2019s congressional staff \u2014 including Issa himself at least once \u2014 have complained directly to the city of Vista three times to have the 200-300 protesters who have consistently gathered across from his office removed<\/a>, despite the group\u2019s possession of a valid permit, and the protesters having been found to be in compliance with their permit. Photos of Issa standing on the roof of the building taking photos of the protesters went viral in June.<\/p>\n Rep. Scott Peters (D-52)<\/strong> posee filed an amendment<\/a> to the Department of Defense Appropriations bill that will block President Trump\u2019s ban on transgender people serving in the military. The amendment reads: \u201cNone of the funds made available by this Act may be used to implement, enforce, or observe in any way, any directive from the president of the United States that bars or restricts the ability of a person to serve in the armed forces because such person is transgender.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are already thousands of transgender Americans serving honorably and openly in our Armed Forces. There is a former member of SEAL Team 6 \u2014 the most elite military unit in history \u2014 that came out as transgender,\u201d Peters said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cJust as we did with the repeal of don\u2019t ask, don\u2019t tell, Congress must stand up against backwards politics, trust our military leaders, and put national security first.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Congressional](\"https:\/\/missionvalleynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/congressional_watch.png\")
<\/a>There hasn\u2019t been a serious debate in Congress about reforming our immigration system since the Senate passed a comprehensive \u2014 and bipartisan \u2014 immigration reform bill in 2013<\/a>, on a 68-32 vote, which the Republican-led House of Representatives summarily rejected.<\/p>\n