{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://adams.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/nc-has-7th-highest-number-young-immigrants-deferral-program", "NC has 7th-highest number of young immigrants in deferral program", "2017-09-29", "2017", "2017-09", "Democrat", "House", "NC", "Alma Adams", "A000370", "adams.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "North Carolina has the nation\u2019s seventh-highest number of young, undocumented immigrants granted deferrals from deportation under a policy that President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will end.\nFederal data\u00a0updated in March show that 27,385 North Carolina residents have had their applications approved under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that the Obama administration put in place in 2012.\nThe\u00a0Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, estimates that more than twice as many North Carolina residents \u2013 66,000 \u2013 are potentially eligible for DACA deferrals. Of those, 41,000 are eligible immediately, it said.\nThe program allows people who came to the United States as children and meet several guidelines, such as lack of a criminal record, to seek deferred removal action for two years. The two-year term is renewable and lets those who qualify work legally.\nTrump administration officials said the government will\u00a0no longer accept new applicants\u00a0to the program and called on Congress to replace it during a \u201cwind down period.\u201d Applicants who are currently approved won\u2019t be immediately affected, according to The\u00a0New York Times.\nSen. Thom Tillis, a Mecklenburg County Republican, said Tuesday he will introduce legislation in the next week \u201cthat will provide a fair and rigorous path for undocumented children to earn legal status by requiring them to be employed, pursue higher education or serve in our Armed Forces. I know this kind of commonsense legislative fix can and should unite members of Congress, and I\u2019ll be working closely with my colleagues on the path forward.\u201d\nCalifornia and Texas lead the nation in deferrals, which have been granted to more than 787,000 young \u201cdreamers\u201d nationwide.\nImmigrant-rights groups quickly condemned Trump\u2019s action, while members of Congress took partisan sides.\n\u201cIn North Carolina, tens of thousands of our friends and neighbors have used DACA to contribute to the economy, get an education, and invest in the only home they know,\u201d Irena Como, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, said in a statement. \u201cToday the federal government has turned its back on these young people who came out of the shadows and worked hard to build their lives here.\u201d\nU.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger, a Charlotte Republican, said Trump was right in asking Congress to review DACA.\n\u201cWe must not facilitate ongoing subterfuge of strong immigration policy in any consideration of DACA,\u201d Pittenger said in a statement. \u201cWe must secure our border, eliminate sanctuary cities, and end efforts to shield illegal immigrants from the rule of law.\u201d\nU.S. Rep. Alma Adams, a Democrat whose district covers Mecklenburg County, denounced Trump\u2019s \u201ccold-hearted decision\u201d to potentially rip young people from the only homes they\u2019ve known.\n\u201cThese children and young adults make real contributions to our society, adding $1.2 billion to North Carolina\u2019s annual gross domestic product, and they should be treated with the dignity every American deserves,\u201d Adams\u2019 statement said. \u201cI urge my Republican colleagues to pass the bipartisan DREAM Act to create a permanent legislative solution for the hundreds of thousands of young people who were promised protection by our government.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://adams.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/nc-has-7th-highest-number-young-immigrants-deferral-program"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.9321489855647087, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}