Advancing Justice Applauds Federal Court Ruling to Halt Termination of DACA
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Washington, D.C. – January 10, 2018 – Last night a federal judge halted the administration’s termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that affords young immigrants the opportunity to work and go to school without fear of deportation. U.S. District Court judge William Alsup ordered the administration to preserve DACA and begin accepting renewal applications for the program.
Advancing Justice, a coalition of five civil rights organizations, issues the following statement:
“We applaud the Federal Court for stopping the administration’s rash and harmful termination of the DACA program. While this decision is a victory, it is not a permanent solution. The administration is certain to appeal this decision and the future of the program remains unclear.
Our young people deserve to live and work in the U.S. with certainty. Congress must pass the Dream Act without concessions to Trump’s anti-immigrant demands for massive cuts to our family-based immigration system and harmful enforcement measures. The Dream Act is publicly supported legislation that provides a path to citizenship for more than one million people, including 130,000 Asian immigrants.
Despite weeks of public pressure led by undocumented youth and their allies, Congress failed to pass the Dream Act at the end of 2017. Congress must do what is morally right and stand up for our community members who stand to lose their deportation protections, jobs, and security.
The White House and Department of Justice caused this unnecessary crisis for immigrant youth when terminating DACA. This is a temporary measure, and Congress must not fail our young people too. The DREAM Act must be included in the negotiations over the government funding levels. We demand a clean DREAM Act by January 19th."