BREAKING: Trump cannot end DACA program. DACA stays!
For immediate release // excuse Cross-Posting
Contact: Jose Patiño, Aliento - jose@alientoaz.org
Reyna Montoya, Aliento - reyna@alientoaz.org
Phoenix, AZ - This morning, the United States’ Supreme Court announced their decision on the DACA case. By a margin of 5-4 the Supreme Court decided that President Trump did not follow the Administration Procedures Act, thereby keeping the program alive. As of today nearly 650,000 DACA recipients are present in the United States and nearly 25,000 in Arizona Dreamers in limbo. It has been almost three years since the Trump administration decided to end the DACA program back in September 5, 2017 with no legislative solution in mind.
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the constant threat of deportation, and attacks from the Trump administration, DACA recipients have shown us that they are making our nation a better place. DACA recipients have built their lives here in the United States. They are students thriving in our K-12 classrooms. They are entrepreneurs, small business owners, and essential workers who are currently taking care of us, providing the food we consume and caring for our health. They are teachers, educating our children, and the next generation of leaders. DACA recipients deserve certainty in their lives. It is time that we show solidarity and fight for them to remain in our nation, the place they call home. Poll after poll shows that the American public is with us, where more than 80% of US citizens support a pathway to citizenship.
Now, it is up to the U.S. Senate and Congress to act and provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. Aliento is urging the Senate to display moral courage and pass legislation that will provide a pathway to citizenship to Dreamers as soon as possible. We are specifically asking Sen. Sinema & Sen. McSally to work together in a bipartisan fashion to pass legislation such as the DREAM Act to ensure no Dreamer gets deported. Arizona voters have spoken, and 9 out of 10 AZ voters support a pathway to citizenship across party lines, including close to 75% of Republicans, 91% of Independents and 98% of Democrats. Now more than ever, we need our elected officials to do their job and deliver a permanent solution and a pathway to citizenship for our Dreamers.
Maria Garcia, an undocumented student and fellow at Aliento states, “My heart was so full this morning to hear that DACA would not be ending. DACA recipients are able to have peace and be stress free about what their future holds. My brother along with some of my cousins have DACA and are working incredibly hard for their families. However, I am an undocumented student who was not able to apply for DACA, along with the rest of the Dreamers. This victory is a huge step, but one of the many that we will be taking. It will lead us to having our American Dream and everything we've worked so hard for. The fight is not over yet, until ALL Dreamers are able to make their dreams and goals come true, without having their status holding them back. This victory fills me with more and more faith. We will continue to fight, our dreams are not illegal.”
Ray Ybarra-Maldonado, an immigration lawyer states, “One more thing to clarify is that the decision today, in my opinion, leaves the program how it was yesterday. People who were in the program can continue to renew. People who were ever in DACA can continue to apply to the program. If you’ve never been in it, I don’t think this decision opens that up although we can receive future actions from district courts.”
Reyna Montoya, founder and CEO of Aliento and DACA recipient states, “If you are an educator, a business leader, a faith leader or a community member who cares, you have the power to call Sen. McSally and Sen. Sinema and plead them to have a permanent solution for Dreamers like me and 25,000 DACA recipients and close to 100,000 Dreamers too young to apply.”
Aliento in partnership with therapists will be hosting group therapy sessions online. We have also created a toolkit to provide information about the decision, mental health tips and sessions, and virtual meetings about what the decision means.
Aliento will have people available for interviews upon request.
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Aliento is a nonprofit organization leadership development 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. We transform trauma into hope + action through the arts, leadership development, and advocacy.