Statement on Attorney General Kris Mayes Joining Multi-state Coalition Brief Defending DACA

March 10, 2023 - Today, Arizona's Attorney General joined 22 attorney generals in filing an amicus brief before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas defending the preservation of the Deferred Action Program for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. We applaud Attorney General Mayes's commitment to the 30,700 Arizonans who have benefitted directly from DACA. As a court ruling on DACA comes closer, it is essential to remember the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be impacted. An abrupt end of DACA will have dire consequences for the recipients, communities, and states. While we wait for the court ruling on DACA, we call on Congress to provide a pathway to citizenship to avoid the harm experienced by the immigrant community. 

DACA recipients have become integral members of their communities. Dreamers seek the security of knowing they won’t lose their careers, their homes, or worst, be separated from their families if the DACA program was to be terminated. DACA recipients and their households are estimated to contribute $9.5 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. 12% of DACA recipients are homeowners and growing, and 95% of DACA recipients are working or studying. And over 250,000 DACA recipients have American children.

“I am heartened by Attorney General Kris Mayes's leadership to ensure that DACA recipients remain in the only country they know as their home. The DACA program has allowed me to become a social entrepreneur, educator, and homeowner. I founded Aliento in 2016 to support undocumented, DACA, & mixed-status families to transform trauma into hope and action. More than 92,000 first-time DACA applicants are stuck in limbo after a federal judge closed the program for first-time applicants. It's time for Congress to finally pass the DREAM Act. We are tired of being used as a political football.”
-Reyna Montoya, CEO & Founder, Aliento.