Press release from Compañeros de las Montañas en Acción:
By Tuesday, Sept. 5, President Donald Trump will announce whether or not he will continue or cancel the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which provides temporary protection and work authorization to over 800,000 immigrant youth across the nation. A coalition of state attorneys general from 10 states will sue Trump if he allows DACA to continue. Today, Sept. 4, we are here to let President Trump and those politicians know that we are here to stay. CIMA (Compañeros Inmigrantes de las Montañas en Acción) and community members will be gathered in Asheville at Doctors Drive and Biltmore Avenue at 10 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 4, to show our support for the continuation of DACA, and to demand immigration reform that protects all of us.
Cancelling DACA was one of President Trump’s campaign promises and now he is being pressured by Tuesday’s deadline to fulfill that promise. Not only might he end DACA, but he also wants to end the Temporary Protected Status program, which protects immigrants whose countries have an ongoing armed conflict (such as civil war), an environmental disaster (such as earthquake or hurricane), or an epidemic. By eliminating these programs, we are taking a step backward and destabilizing people’s lives.
If these programs are tampered with, families, communities and the economy will be devastated. North Carolina would lose more than $1 billion a year, according to CNBC. According to the Budget and Tax Center of the NC Justice Center, DACA has led to an increase in employment opportunities and participation in higher education among many beneficiaries. Since its inception, approximately 1.5 million individuals have enrolled in the program. In North Carolina, there are currently 49,712 DACA beneficiaries. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country would lose their driver licenses, work authorization, would not be able to complete their educational degrees, and more, all of which makes them extremely vulnerable to things like tickets for driving without a license, losing their jobs, deportation and being pushed back into the shadows.
“Removing these programs will discourage immigrants and their children from accessing institutions such as hospitals, courts, and schools, among others. Workers from all sectors, who have had access to authorized employment for years under TPS and DACA, will be dismissed as if they were some sort of disposable object. It is the moral responsibility of all institutions and employers to treat their employees with the human dignity that they deserve,” said Bruno Hinojosa Ruiz.
Regardless of the President’s decision on DACA, we will be here to fight for more than temporary protection. Not only will we defend DACA, but we demand a comprehensive immigration reform for ALL.
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