WASHINGTON (September 5, 2017)—Today, President Donald Trump has announced his intention to eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects young immigrants from the threat of deportation. This decision will affect hundreds of thousands of people, and violates the principles of justice that should be the basis of our immigration policy, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
Below is a statement by Ken Kimmell, president of UCS.
“Ending DACA breaks a promise made to hundreds of thousands of young immigrants more than five years ago—upending their lives and putting them at risk of deportation. It’s the latest in a pattern of actions taken by this administration demonstrating a cavalier attitude toward our nation’s integrity and a hostility toward people of diverse backgrounds. Because of this decision, young people who were brought to this country as children and have lived most of their lives in America could be pushed into the shadows, or sent to countries they have little memory of and may not speak the language.
“These young people are valued members of our communities—they serve in the military and are current and future doctors, scientists, police officers, social workers, and teachers. They should be embraced for what they are: Americans. Scientific research has demonstrated that we all benefit from diversity, as diverse teams do better at problem solving than teams made up of similar individuals.
“Revoking this nation’s promise to the DREAMers creates a climate of fear, serves no just end, and deprives our nation of the talent and energies these young people can contribute to our economy and our democracy. Now that the president has abandoned the DREAMers, Congress must quickly come up with a plan to protect them over the long term.”