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Kamala Harris Vows Executive Action to Allow Citizenship for Dreamers 

The executive actions are all but certain to face legal challenges.

Kamala Harris Vows Executive Action to Allow Citizenship for Dreamers 
Senator Kamala Harris, a Democrat from California and 2020 presidential candidate, speaks during an Iowa Democratic Party Hall of Fame event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S. (Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris unveiled a proposal Wednesday to unilaterally remove legal barriers for young undocumented “Dreamers” to pursue U.S. citizenship.

The move sets her apart from major rivals for the Democratic nomination, with a far-reaching set of executive actions aimed at allowing Dreamers, those immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, to become American citizens. If the California senator wins the nomination, it promises to be a divisive issue in a general election battle against President Donald Trump, who has made restricting immigration a centerpiece of his platform.

“It needs to happen. It’s the right thing to do,” Harris said Wednesday in an interview. “Until Congress can get its act together, I’m prepared to take executive action to get it done.”

Harris proposed four rule changes, according to a white paper by her campaign.

First, she’d set up a “Dreamers Parole-in-Place Program” to allow Dreamers who are married to a U.S. citizen to apply for a green card. Second, she’d make Dreamers eligible to seek permanent residency under an exception to the Immigration and Nationality Act by declaring that they were not at “fault” for their lack of lawful status.

Third, she’d order the Homeland Security secretary to grant retroactive work permits under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, which she promised to reinstate. And fourth, Harris would lift the bans of 3 and 10 years for Dreamers who leave the U.S. and apply for a green card at a consulate abroad, allowing those separated from a close family member to cite “extreme hardship” to obtain a waiver.

Read More: House Passes Bill to Legalize More Than 2 Million Immigrants

The executive actions are all but certain to face legal challenges. Before President Barack Obama left office, courts blocked his plan to extend DACA protections with a new program that would shield some 5 million undocumented people from deportation.

“We’ve researched it in terms of any legal challenges that might come up,” Harris said. “And I think we can survive any legal challenges, just based on precedent.”

Harris’s parents are immigrants from Jamaica and India.

The California senator is competing for third place in early Democratic surveys, behind former Vice President Joe Biden and 2016 runner-up Bernie Sanders.

Harris’s plan also proposes allowing undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to apply for deportation relief. All told, the campaign said it expects her plan to shield as many as 6 million undocumented people from deportation. If she’s elected president and pursues it, Harris is certain to be accused by conservatives of abusing her power.

Pro-immigration activists praised Harris’s plan.

“It’s legally sound, groundbreaking and bold,” said Frank Sharry, who runs the immigration advocacy group America’s Voice. “In a polarized political environment where bipartisan legislation is hard to come by, this is a viable strategy that could produce a breakthrough.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Sahil Kapur in Washington at skapur39@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Anna Edgerton, Laurie Asséo

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