Washington, DC – On Wednesday, the Biden Administration and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a regulation to codify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The final DACA rule is intended to more effectively shield DACA in the courts.
While the new rule keeps the status of current DACA recipients intact, it ultimately will not protect the program from ongoing or future legal challenges, nor does it expand eligibility or reopen the program for first time applicants. It does not reopen the processing of applications of the nearly 80,000 young people who applied last year or the hundreds of thousands of eligible youth who have never been able to apply. The new rule will fall short of fully protecting immigrant youth if the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rules against DACA—a decision expected in the coming weeks.
DACA recipients, Dreamers, advocates, and faith communities have always known that DACA—even codified—isn’t enough. People of faith have said it before and will say it again: our immigrant siblings’ home is here. The member organizations of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) urge President Biden to fulfill his promise to provide a long-term solution for immigrant youth and their families and communities by working with Congress to enact permanent pathways to citizenship for all who call this country home.
IIC members issued the following statements:
“While temporary protections like DACA are needed as a stop gap, we continue to call for citizenship for all—no exceptions,” said Imani Cruz, Migration Policy Advocacy Coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). “By expanding access to a pathway to permanent status for all—including DACA recipients, TPS holders, and the more than 11 million undocumented people in the U.S.—our community members would be able to access a quality of life that has been denied them for so many years. The Biden administration and Congress must do more than keep the status quo.”
“I personally recognize the importance of this policy change because I was a DACA recipient for close to ten years,” said Claudia Marchan, advocacy consultant for National Justice For Our Neighbors. “DACA afforded hundreds of thousands of immigrants, like me, temporary protection from deportation and the ability to work lawfully, but it is not enough. We need pathways to citizenship. Immigrants have supported this country with their blood, sweat and tears. We must not accept anything less than a pathway to citizenship.”
“We welcome the final rule to codify DACA protections for thousands of undocumented young people. At the same time, we are concerned that the final rule does not go far enough to provide protections for immigrant youth,” said Barbara Weinstein, Director, Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism. “While DACA gave protections to over 800,000 young people, it was only intended to be and remains a temporary solution. In Leviticus we are taught ‘the stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt’ (19:34). No one should have to live in fear of their lives being suddenly turned upside down by abrupt policy changes. Reform Jews across the country stand with DACA recipients and continue to call on Congress and the Biden administration to provide a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and all undocumented youth.”
“CLINIC welcomes this rule as a means to provide additional security for DACA recipients, who rely on this program to ensure they can remain in the United States with their families, friends and communities,” said Anna Gallagher, executive director of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. “For 10 years, DACA recipients have waited for a permanent solution to ensure they can gain legal status in the U.S., all the while living in fear that DACA could be rescinded, and they could be separated from their families and deported. While this new rule fortifies the existing DACA program, it is not a permanent solution, nor does it expand access for other deserving groups. We urge Congress to act with mercy, justice and compassion by creating a path to legal residency and citizenship for DACA recipients—our neighbors, friends and clients—whose home is here in the U.S.”
Rev. Kendal L. McBroom, Director of Civil and Human Rights, The United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society said: “DACA is a well intended program that has provided temporary protections for hundreds of thousands of those in the immigrant community. To not expand it or ensure full protection of immigrants is to do harm to the fabric of humanity. As United Methodists, we believe in the sacred, inherent dignity and value of all human beings, including those in the immigrant community. On numerous occasions, the Bible prohibits discrimination against and harsh treatment of the sojourner in our lands. As such, we fiercely advocate for fuller protections for DACA recipients and immigrants seeking stability and security.”
“National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) has long supported a path to citizenship for young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, known as Dreamers, some of whom have temporary legal protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). The administration’s final rule on DACA, released this week, does not go far enough to meet the actual needs of immigrant youth and underscores the urgent need for a permanent solution,” said Jody Rabhan, Chief Policy Officer of National Council of Jewish Women. “The Torah commands us to welcome the stranger, for once we too were strangers. Dreamers are our family members, friends, and beloved community members, and deserve to grow and thrive in our country.”
“The more-than-a-decade track record of contributions by DACA recipients to U.S. communities, congregations, and our economy is absolutely unmistakable, and those who have so faithfully endured uncertainties for so many years deserve the codification of DACA as a federal regulation that is provided through the administration’s new rule,” said Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries Director. “However, our faith in a God who is Love calls us to so much more. We must urge Congress to finally pass permanent pathways to citizenship rather than partial protections—and in the meantime keep pushing the administration to expand eligible populations over broader time periods and ensure processing of pending applications.”
“DACA was not designed to be a permanent solution, and while the new DACA ruling by DHS and the Biden administration is a step in the right direction, it does not go far enough to protect DACA recipients and other undocumented immigrants,” said Jorge Palacios, Migration Coordinator for Youth Engagement for the Ignatian Solidarity Network. “Catholic Social Teaching calls us to be attentive to and caring for the most vulnerable among us, and those who fear being separated from friends, families, and the communities they have come to call home must be included in that category of ‘most vulnerable.’ Only a path to citizenship and comprehensive immigration reform can guarantee the safety and security of DACA recipients, other undocumented young people, and many of the other nearly 11 million undocumented people living in our country.”
“Our Catholic faith and Franciscan spirituality demand that we act on our faith. This is why we choose to stand in solidarity with DACA recipients, many of whom were brought to this country at a young age and had no choice,” said Franciscan Action Network executive director Michele Dunne, OFS. “These young people are as much children of the United States as are any of us. They have been educated here, are employed here, and are engaged in service to others. They should not have to live with the fear of being abandoned and separated from the only country they know. DACA is a fine program and has served its purpose well, but it is a temporary fix. We need to have a system in place where DACA recipients can become full U.S. citizens if they choose.”
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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