Washington, DC – Ten years ago today marked the first day that thousands of young immigrants were able to submit their first applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, status. Due to the relentless advocacy of immigrant youth, the DACA program was created to offer employment authorization and protection from deportation for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.
While DACA has provided an important safety net for over 800,000 young people, it has been a short-term and unstable solution. DACA has been vulnerable to numerous legal challenges and Republican-led attacks over the years that have forced young people to live in constant fear and uncertainty.
Most recently, a federal judge in New York refused a plea to resume processing pending initial DACA applications—a move that prolongs the limbo that approximately 80,000 DACA-eligible individuals were placed in last year when a federal judge in Texas ruled to stop first-time DACA applications from being processed. Last month, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on the Texas lawsuit challenging the legality of DACA, and a decision will be released in the coming months. A negative ruling could mean the end of the DACA program.
These 80,000 DACA-eligible young people—whose first-time applications have now been on hold for over a year—deserve permanent solutions. Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) members have been persistent in communicating this message to Congress. In multiple legislative meetings this month, IIC partners, DACA recipients, and constituents met with their members of Congress to stress the continued urgent need for permanent protections for Dreamers and all undocumented immigrants that have called the United States home for decades.
Today, the IIC joins DACA-eligible individuals, DACA recipients, and all Dreamers in calling for an immediate end to the threat of deportation and the uncertainty of temporary solutions. Their home is here. A decade after the government applied a temporary solution, Congress must do its job to deliver broad permanent protections for all immigrants.
“While DACA has given needed relief to thousands of immigrant youth—like my sister and partner—I was one of the thousands that was not able to apply for DACA,” said Jose Palacios, Leader of Faith in Action. “I am one of the 80,000 applicants that will continue to live in fear of deportation due to Judge Hanen’s decision. His decision has prevented many from applying to the program as new applicants. As a DACA recipient, I would have access to obtain a driver’s license, a work authorization card, and job security. The program could have made a monumental impact on my life and that of the other thousands of people who could have applied to it for the first time.”
“Picture each time DACA opened a new door and possibility,” said Giovana Oaxaca, Program Director for Migration Policy with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. “Through DACA, tens of thousands of young people were able to go on to pursue the careers of their dreams after graduation, begin families, and otherwise live in more certainty than they had before. Imagine how much fear everyone who applied had to overcome to entrust their lives and future hopes in the hands of a government agency. A decade after these young people courageously submitted their first application, it was hoped that a permanent solution would have been settled. DACA was never a dependable long-term solution, it merely offered the stability and opportunity for people to live out their lives while a permanent legislative solution was fought for, shaped, and eventually passed in Congress. On this anniversary, it is important to stress that Congress still has the power to pass legislation for people in programs like DACA, for those who are excluded from it today, and many others with deep roots in this country. This memory should solidify our resolve to continue advocating for a pathway to citizenship.”
“Thanks to the DACA program, young people have been able to attend college, work to provide for themselves and their families, contribute to our communities, pursue their goals and dreams, and live without the fear of being separated from their families and communities,” said Paola Fuentes Gleghorn, Immigration and Women and Girls Campaign Campaign Coordinator for Sojourners. “But DACA is only a temporary program that still leaves many immigrant people with uncertainty around their future. The lack of legislative action around DACA means it is continuously challenged in the courts. May this anniversary of DACA be a catalyst for a fair and sustainable pathway to citizenship for ALL undocumented immigrant people – people made in the Image of God – who call the United States home.”
“Ten years ago, Franciscan Action Network rejoiced with young immigrants who benefitted from the temporary DACA program and we anticipated that they would soon have access to permanent protections,” said Sister Marie Lucey, OSF, Associate Director of FAN. “Ten years later, thousands of DACA recipients and DACA-eligible individuals still live with daily uncertainty and fear of being separated from their families. We know and love many of these young women and men personally. Resistance to welcoming them and their families as citizens is unfathomable to us. This country benefits from their multiple contributions. For many, this is the only country they know as home. A fundamental Franciscan principle is seeing and welcoming all as sisters and brothers. Many this 10th anniversary goad elected officials to ensure deserved permanent protections for all undocumented brothers and sisters who live and work here, and who desire U.S. citizenship.”
“DACA recipients are parents, teachers, nurses, lawyers, scientists, our neighbors, fellow church members, and leaders of a new generation. Made in the image of our Creator, DREAMers and their families are inextricably woven into the fabric of our nation and play an invaluable role in our society. They have not stood by and idled, waiting for change to happen for them. These individuals understand what it means to be an active citizen practicing their own agency and fighting for their rights,” said Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “As we recognize 10 years of protections, let us remember the tens of thousands who have not been able to access DACA. May we also remember that DACA is only a partial solution. We must continue to seek pathways to citizenship for all who dream of becoming citizens in the United States.”
“Ten years ago, the U.S. put in place a temporary program that embraced young people from all parts of the world brought to the U.S. as children. The DACA program allowed them to dream, grow, and thrive here, contributing to the U.S.’s beautiful tapestry,” said Fran Eskin-Royer, executive director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. “A decade later, these DACA recipients—and those who would be newly eligible but for the program’s suspension—continue to live in fear and uncertainty. May this anniversary inspire legislators to create permanent solutions that put all our immigrant brothers and sisters on a pathway to citizenship so that they might live with greater dignity in the U.S., sharing their gifts and strengthening the social fabric of this nation.”
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of over 55 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants. Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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