Brief Responds to Texas Motion to Force Title 42 to Apply to Unaccompanied Children and Families
Brief Responds to Texas Motion to Force Title 42 to Apply to Unaccompanied Children and Families
LOS ANGELES — The Department of Homeland Security today issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) over proposed changes to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA). The program, which has allowed over 825,000 people to apply for deportation relief and work authorization since 2012, had been under increasing pressure from the courts to reform. Below is a statement from Karen Tumlin, founder and director of Justice Action Center and counsel in Batalla Vidal v. Wolf, the successful Supreme Court effort that stopped former President Trump’s effort to end DACA:
“For almost a decade, DACA has been a lifeline for countless immigrant youth, and millions more family members and friends. Despite a broken immigration system, those who came here as children could apply to use the skills and talents they had developed in the United States to become teachers, doctors, or community organizers. The work authorization provided by DACA has been transformative for communities and the entire nation.
“And yet, all of us know that DACA is not enough. Congress has a historic opportunity to provide a path to permanent status for those with DACA and so many others in the reconciliation package, and they must use it.
“But so must the administration maintain its own authority to use the power of the executive branch to provide much-needed relief to groups of immigrants when the moment calls for it. DACA was called for and willed into existence by young people who demanded more from Washington than the status quo – and President Obama listened. This proposed regulation could take the teeth out of DACA by decoupling the work authorization from the relief from deportation. Providing deportation protection without giving immigrants a way to legally sustain their economic livelihoods is not a solution.”
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Justice Action Center (JAC) is a new nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting for greater justice for immigrant communities by combining litigation and storytelling. JAC is committed to bringing additional litigation resources to address unmet needs, empower clients, and change the corrosive narrative around immigrants in the U.S. Learn more at justiceactioncenter.org.