PRESS STATEMENT: Aliento Heads to DC for DACA Arguments
For immediate release // excuse Cross-Posting
Contact: Jose Patiño, Aliento, 480-287-2140 - jose@alientoaz.org
Reyna Montoya, Aliento, 480-430-9025 - reyna@alientoaz.org
On September 5th, 2017 the Trump administration rescinded the 2012 DACA memo saying that the program was unconstitutional. However, in 2012 over 104 law professors stated that the DACA program was legal. The termination of the program by the Trump administration threw the lives of over 800,000 DACA recipients into chaos.
On November 12th, the Supreme Court will be holding oral arguments on the case pertaining to the future of DACA and whether the decision to end DACA can be upheld constitutionally. Three judges in California, New York & Virginia have stated that the Trump administration did not follow the Administrative Procedures Act when it ended the DACA program on September 5, 2017. There will be no decision made this upcoming Tuesday, but these hearing will help give the country and organizations nationwide a better idea of the direction in which the case is headed.
Currently, our CEO, Reyna Montoya, is in Washington D.C. with her brother, Mario Montoya, awaiting to hear any updates from the court. On the subject, Reyna stated, “ I am heading to DC with my little brother, Mario, to hear the DACA case inside SCOTUS. We both have DACA and I’m filled with mixed emotions. I’ll be turning 29 in 12 days & I was only 19 when I shared my story for the first time at a republican fundraising right after SB1070 was passed. It’s surreal to think that 10 years later I’m still sharing my story and hustling with the hope that one day I will not have to worry about getting deported from my beloved Arizona. Today, I pray for strength and light for all of us”.
Mario Montoya, a DACA recipient and Co-Chair of Aliento @ ASU states, “It’s an uneasy feeling knowing all the hard work I’ve put towards my education can become meaningless in this upcoming months. This is an issue that is affecting me today but this issue will have an impact on the generations to come and I hope our government has the ability to do the right thing”
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Aliento is a community organization that is DACA, undocumented and youth-led. We are directly impacted people and allies who are invested in the well being, emotional healing, and leadership development of those impacted by the inequalities of lacking an immigration status.
Tags: DACA; Dreamers; Immigration; Supreme Court; Legalization; Dream Act;Department of Homeland Security; DHS; President Trump;
