On Tuesday, September 5th, The Trump administration announced, via Attorney General Jeff Sessions, that in 6 months they will end the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program, which allows certain illegal immigrants who entered the country as minors to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and eligibility for a work permit.
This action puts the immigration status of almost 8,000 people in Massachusetts and 800,000 people nation wide in jeopardy. In response to this, the Massachusetts Democratic Party issued the following statement:
Today, the Trump Administration reaffirmed its agenda to vilify and punish our nation’s immigrant community – once again forcing them back into the shadows and tearing families apart. The President and extremist Republicans continue to ignore the fact that we’re a nation of immigrants and continue to undermine our American ideals of inclusion and diversity.
Massachusetts Democrats – including our Senators, Congressional Delegation, and Attorney General Maura Healey – stand with the 7,934 DACA recipients in Massachusetts and the 800,000 across the nation who have long considered America home and have made great contributions to our economy, our society, and our communities.
Here are some things you can do to support the Democratic party and our elected officials as they stand against this hateful action:
- Call our Senators and Congresswoman to thank them for their support of the DREAM Act, (introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), this bill would put DACA recipients on a path to citizenship)
- Use https://5calls.org/ for quick access to phone calls and scripts, and encourage your out-of-state friends and family to do the same.
- Sign this United We Dream petition: https://action.unitedwedream.org/petitions/keep-the-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-daca-program
- Use this toolkit to call or tweet at key legislators. If you know someone who lives in any of the states represented, ask them to call or tweet: https://dreamacttoolkit.org/
- Support MIRA, and join their mailing list for future action items: https://www.miracoalition.org/getinvolved/733-daca-in-peril-what-you-can-do-as-a-dreamer-or-ally?fref=gc&dti=41734395356
Please share your thoughts and other opportunities for action by emailing ashlanddems@gmail.com, or post on our Facebook page.