We must protect DREAMers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 20, 2021
Press Contact: Marcus Coppola, National Director of Communications
marcus.coppola@collegedems.com
On Friday, a federal judge in Texas single handedly struck down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that has provided so many with optimism and opportunity since 2012. This decision will leave a whole generation of immigrants without the chance to better their lives and leaves another generation of DACA recipients left uncertain about their futures.
College Democrats of America (CDA) condemns this decision in the strongest manner possible, and we call on Congress to urgently act to codify protection for all DREAMers.
Judge Andrew Hanon’s decision was based entirely on the statutory and administrative aspects of President Obama’s executive order establishing the program in 2012. This proves the urgent need for permanent legislation to protect DREAMers and establish a path to citizenship, one that cannot be dismantled by a xenophobic judiciary system. Therefore, CDA wholeheartedly supports the American Dream and Promise Act, which would protect all DREAMers from deportation and provide a path to permanent residency — but while this is action that needs to be taken now, Congress cannot stop there.
“Right now is the most urgent time for us to make sure that DACA and DREAMers and our immigrant families are protected, and that is by passing the American Dream and Promise Act from within reconciliation. But at the end of the day, we need to be pushing for a pathway to citizenship,” said Tasneem Al-Michael, DACA recipient and vice president of CDA.
“These are not people from somewhere else — they are Americans. These are people who are your neighbor. These are folks who grew up with your kids. They’re people you go to college with. And no matter what the Texas District Court tries to do, the community will keep on fighting back even harder than ever before,” Al-Michael said.
The United States was built on the backs of immigrants, and we should be encouraging, not deterring, them today to bring their skills, their cultures and their lives to better our country. Everyone should have the chance at their American Dream.
