We are here to stay
Immigrants must fight for the right to keep their families together
June 15th marked the fifth anniversary for the administrative relief known as DACA — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — a successful program created under former President Barack Obama that grants recipients a Social Security number, shields them temporarily from deportation, and (provides) a work permit valid for 2 years.
But on that same day, the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security decided to rescind a memo created under the Obama administration known as DACA expansion and DAPA — Deferred Action for Parents of U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents — which would have expanded the common-sense relief to over 5 million undocumented immigrants nationwide.
The expansion of the administrative relief was first announced in November of 2014 but was quickly put on hold after Texas and a handful of Republican politicians filed a lawsuit claiming the expansion to be unconstitutional. After months of litigation, the suit was then appealed at the U.S. Supreme Court, where it stagnated following a 4-4 vote on whether this administrative relief expansion could be implemented.
What happened that Thursday night is yet another attack against immigrant communities across the country in an attempt to silence and drag us back into the shadows!
Unfortunately, the decision is also a failed opportunity to continue building on the success of DACA, which has allowed 63 percent of its recipients to obtain a better job, 54 percent of them to buy their first car, and 12 percent of them to buy their first home.
DACA hasn’t only improved the personal lives of its recipients. Rather, it has allowed immigrant communities to stimulate their local, state and the national economy in ways they couldn’t before simply due to the lack of proper documentation.
In our state over 12,000 young immigrants have benefitted from DACA. Had the expansion of DACA and DAPA been implemented, they would have provided over 36,000 families statewide a chance to leave without fear of deportation and family separation.
Although there is a real uncertainty of what is to come for DACA, the immigrant community continues sharing a clear message: Immigrants are #HereToStay! We will continue to do so until our immigrant community can live without fear of being torn apart by the immigration system and until our brothers and sisters do not have to wonder daily whether their parents will arrive home after a hard day’s work.
Even under the protection offered by Obama’s administrative relief, some DACA recipients — like Dany Vargas, Jessica Colotl, Daniel Ramirez and Juan Montes — have been targeted by Trump’s agents, and application rates have hit an all-time low. It’s become clear to us that Trump’s administration officials are trying to erode and weaken DACA.
Just last week, Trump’s top immigration agent, Thomas D. Homan, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, delivered this message to all undocumented people — and this is a quote — “You should be uncomfortable, you should look over your shoulder. You need to be worried.”
In this moment of crisis, inaction is not an option! Our local, state and federal policymakers must ensure that DACA is a strong and reliable protection for immigrant youth and to stop Donald Trump’s racist immigration agents from carrying out his mass deportation orders.
Let us not forget DACA was won by young people after years of organizing to stop deportations. The program works, and the victory of five years ago will continue to inspire us today in this time of uncertainty. Any attempt to drag us back into the shadows will not prevail.
Our message remains the same today and tomorrow: Immigrant families are #HereToStay!
Anyone interested in joining the fight for immigrant families can do so by texting “HereToStay” to 877-877.