Washington, DC (September 5, 2018) – Today, one year since the Trump Administration cancelled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) calls on lawmakers to reject increases in spending for harmful immigration enforcement practices.
Contact: Adlai Amor, Friends Committee on National Legislation, media@fcnl.org; 202-903-2536
Congress is currently debating how much to increase immigration enforcement spending yet has made no progress on protective legislation for immigrants at risk of deportation.
“DACA has supported the development of robust and thriving communities that rely on Dreamers as family, workers, students, and friends,” said Diane Randall, Executive Secretary for FCNL. “We call on lawmakers to prioritize equity and justice for all in our society—regardless of how their families arrived—over spending for harmful immigration enforcement practices.”
For more than 15 years, FCNL has worked towards a permanent, congressional solution for Dreamers. Since President Obama started the program in 2012, DACA has offered young people who grew up undocumented in the United States a way to apply for protection from deportation and legal work authorization. Over six years, the program protected nearly 800,000 young immigrants from deportation.
Last Friday, Texas District Judge Andrew Hanen denied the request from Texas and eight other states to immediately end the DACA program. This ruling means the administration must—for now—continue to accept DACA renewals in accordance with other district court rulings.
“A permanent, equitable immigration solution is possible, but Dreamers, their families and entire communities remain in limbo absent congressional action,” said Hannah Graf Evans, FCNL’s Legislative Representative for Immigration and Refugee Policy. “Lawmakers must act to protect Dreamers independently of deportation, detention or border militarization policies that would put their parents or siblings at risk.”
FCNL envisions immigration policies that will allow people to migrate to the United States regardless of their wealth or skill levels, to preserve their families’ unity, to change their places of employment and to apply for lawful permanent status and eventual citizenship.
Founded in 1943 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), FCNL lobbies Congress and the administration for U.S. policies that advance peace, justice, and good government.