FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brandon Lee
773-271-0899 x200
blee@advancingjustice-chicago.org
Advancing Justice Condemns the Administration’s Termination of DACA
CHICAGO, IL — September 5, 2017 — Today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. No new DACA applications will be processed after today, and the program will be terminated in March 2018. Since its creation in 2012, DACA has transformed the lives of nearly 800,000 young people by providing temporary relief from deportation and a work permit.
In response, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a national affiliation of five civil rights organizations, issues this statement:
After our government had asked these young people to come forward and put their trust in the government, it is inhumane for our government to strip these young people of the protections DACA has provided. By phasing out DACA, this administration has failed to show moral leadership.
DACA is a humane and common-sense policy solution that has a firm legal basis. For the past five years, Advancing Justice has fought for and served thousands of Asian, Pacific Islander, Latino, African and other DACA applicants and recipients, and we are appalled by the president’s lack of humanity and compassion.
Today’s action by the administration to terminate DACA underscores its pursuit of an agenda rooted in hate and inhumanity. This decision will affect close to 800,000 young people causing many to lose jobs, drop out of school, face the prospects of deportation and have other destabilizing effects on themselves, their families, and the communities of which they are a part.
President Trump has assured DACA recipients in the past that they did not need to worry. By changing his mind now, he has shown that he is clearly influenced by a white supremacist agenda, which is also evident in his multiple actions that target reducing immigration options for predominantly Asian, Latino, and African immigrants.
The administration’s action flies in the face of real facts and data, which shows that the DACA program has been a lifeline for young DACAmented immigrants as well as a benefit to both local and national economies. Pushing these young people back underground will create economic turmoil for our nation. It also directly contradicts the desire of the majority of Americans, as 8 out 10 voters want a more permanent solution for these young immigrants.
Among the DACA recipients affected by today’s action are many Asian immigrants. Between 2012 and 2017, over 16,000 young Asian immigrants received protection under DACA and, of the Asian immigrants who are undocumented, over 120,000 were eligible for DACA.
Advancing Justice is calling upon Congress to do what the administration has failed to do. It is incumbent upon our Senators and Representatives to enact a permanent legislative solution that would once and for all protect our DACA recipients and place them on a pathway to citizenship. Congress needs to pass the DREAM Act immediately.
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Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice | AAJC (Washington, DC), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice – Chicago.