DACA Anniversary acknowledged with #UniteTheVote Launch
See Facebook Event HERE
Arkansas United was proud to join yesterday's protest at Attorney General Rutledge's Office, where DREAMers were on site to recognize the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s announcement to end the popular Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and the role AG Rutledge played in the program’s demise.
“Dreamers are in limbo; unable to plan their futures because we do not know what the courts or Congress or even Trump will do next,” said Arkansas United who works with dreamers in Arkansas. “If they have been saving money to go to college, do they go ahead with their plans even if they do not know if they will be able to stay in the U.S. and graduate? What if someone wants to be a doctor or a lawyer, careers that require extra years of study? What are people supposed to do? It’s frustrating and very mean-spirited of Trump to do this to us.”
The anniversary comes just as Congress returns to regular session to consider government funding for 2019, including the massive appropriations measure for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The House has proposed $51.4 billion and the Senate’s bill totals $48.3 billion, both are heavily focused on paying for massive increases in immigration enforcement handled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“Our nation is facing a moral crisis as the federal government wages a full-scale assault on immigrants, regardless of status,” said Arkansas United. Coincidently, today from 10am - 11am, dreamers will be at the USCIS office in Fort Smith doing their biometrics as part of their DACA renewal process, an opportunity that they have available only because of recent court decisions.
One year ago today, Fair Immigration Reform Movement youth, including Arkansans and AU staff, stepped up and launched a week-long fast to demand congressional action. Arkansas United continues to lead the path to justice by launching Arkansas' #UniteTheVote" phonebanks and canvasses, seeking to rally a historic Hispanic and Asian vote in our state this November and ensuring that immigrant issues, like DACA, are taken seriously by our state's elected officials.
For more information on the current status of DACA in the courts, we recommend: