Trump's Plans on Deportation for Young Immigrants Still Fuzzy

WASHINGTON — With inauguration day approaching, the Trump administration's plans for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants currently protected from deportation remain unclear, raising anxiety for them and their advocates.Key Cabinet picks soft-pedaled the threat at their confirmation hearings over the past week. House Speaker Paul Ryan offered an assurance that no round-ups are imminent. But Trump has pledged to repeal many of President Barack Obama's executive actions and to take a much harder-line approach on immigration.And even if the new administration lacks the will or manpower to assemble a mass deportation force, people who registered with the government under the program in the last four years are easier to find than ever."He's not going to be able to deport 800,000 people," Fort Worth businessman Oscar Vazquez, an immigrant from Mexico who earned legal status by serving in the Army, testified at Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions' confirmation hearing for attorney general. But he said, "There is a lot of fear out there.... Their names are out there. They raised their hands."More than 750,000 young immigrants have signed up for protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, according to Department of Homeland Security data released last month. More than 120,000 live in Texas.Obama will not pardon these young immigrants before leaving office Friday, as some advocates have hoped. Aides say he's out of options."It is our sense having looked at this issue very closely and very hard, that we've done what we can do," said senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.  Continue reading...