Erica Daughtrey

2019180033

September 5, 2017

Congressman Sires’ Statement on President Trump’s Decision to Terminate DACA

(Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Sires issued the following statement after Attorney General Sessions announced the President’s decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:

“The President’s cruel and reprehensible decision to end DACA with a six month delay is inhumane and devastating for families and communities across the country.  In doing so, the President is also hurting our economy and our national security while diverting critical law enforcement efforts that should be focused on those who pose a true danger to public safety.  Since it was launched in 2012, DACA has helped hundreds of thousands of eligible young people come out of the shadows to better themselves and their communities without the fear of being separated from their loved ones and sent to a place of which they might have no memory.

This decision targets millions of hardworking people who were brought here as young children and know no country but America as their home.  DACA recipients are our neighbors, friends, and colleagues.  They are students, doctors, engineers, and leaders in our military who are dedicated to our nation.  Just this week, we saw how far this dedication goes when Alonso Guillén, a DACA recipient, tragically lost his life while rescuing people stranded in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

America was built on the hard work of immigrants and our diversity is part of the foundation of our nation.  Unlike the President, I will not abandon the nearly 800,000 DREAMerswho have put their trust in our government and who contribute to our society every day.

This decision is another manifestation of the President’s anti-immigrant rhetoric that has emboldened hatred, racism, and bigotry.  Following last month’s pardon of Joe Arpaio, who built his career on targeting and tormenting Latinos, today’s announcement shows that the President will continue this divisive and unconscionable pattern.  It is insulting for him to use the rule of law as justification for ending DACA when he rapidly pardoned a man who routinely violated the rights of Latinos and ignored the directives of the court.

It is long past time for Congress to step up and protect the thousands of families that will be torn apart because of the President’s indefensible decision.

We must pass legislation to ensure DACA recipients are protected and work to create comprehensive immigration reform to fix our broken immigration system in a way that treats those coming to this country in search for a better life with dignity and respect. I want to repeat my commitment to the nearly 800,000 DREAMers and their families who have been heartlessly abandoned by the Executive Branch.”

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