CHICAGO (June 18, 2020) –The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) applauds today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that the Trump administration’s termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was unlawful.
This decision grants temporary but palpable relief to hundreds of thousands of people and their loved ones at a time of national uncertainty. The Court recognized that when the Trump administration sought to end the DACA program, it failed to give sufficient attention to the reality that, once established, the program provided an expectation of future stability for DACA recipients, their families, their colleagues, and their communities. The victory is a testament to the courage and strength of the immigrant youth-led movement, whose members have put their lives on the line to fight for stability and security for themselves and their loved ones.
National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) Executive Director Mary Meg McCarthy responded to the Court’s ruling with the following statement:
“We are relieved that the Supreme Court has recognized that the manner in which the Trump administration tried to end DACA protection for more than 700,000 members of our community was arbitrary and capricious.
“DACA’s success has shown us the positive impact that immigration policy can have on the social fabric of our society. Congress and numerous presidential administrations have failed to address the reality that millions of people are a part of our communities and families, yet have no opportunity to obtain the legal documentation they need to secure their futures here permanently. Although it was a temporary and imperfect solution, once we removed the fear of deportation and treated this group of young adults more fairly, they were able to make significant contributions to our society: they pursued higher education, started their own families, invested in our economy, purchased homes, and opened businesses. The number of people who are now working on the front lines of our nation’s battle against COVID-19 as nurses, doctors, technicians, scientists, teachers, and first responders — who wouldn’t be able to do so without DACA protections — are the most recent testaments to why all Americans have benefited from this program.
“Notwithstanding the Court’s decision, we urgently need Congress and the administration to develop an immigration policy that upholds human rights and provides a pathway to citizenship for all individuals who have built lives in the United States. Congress’s failure to create permanent paths to citizenship for DACA recipients or to build on this program in any way has left the parents of DACA recipients, deported U.S. veterans, people who have sought asylum and other people who call the U.S. home in a permanent form of limbo. As the Black community and communities of color across the United States have spoken out in recent weeks against generations of state-sanctioned violence and insecurity, it is clear that we can’t rest until these demands are also addressed through a systemic transformation of the immigration system.”
NIJC will collaborate with partners in the coming days to release updated analysis and guidance to ensure communities and families stay safe. For updates, visit immigrantjustice.org/daca.
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The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) is a nongovernmental organization dedicated to ensuring human rights protections and access to justice for all immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers through a unique combination of direct services, policy reform, impact litigation, and public education. Visit immigrantjustice.org and follow @NIJC on Twitter.
