DACA stays, fight for legalization for all!
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by Legalization for All Network (L4A).
Los Angeles, CA – Early Thursday morning, June 18, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration's attempt to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA was an executive order signed June 15, 2012 by then-President Barak Obama and it protects hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth, allowing them to work and go to school without fear of arrest and deportation.
The 5-4 ruling was written by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. The decision was made after it was ruled the Trump administration failed to provide an adequate reason to justify ending DACA. Since Trump's election he has attempted to dismantle, in many cases successfully, Presidents Obama's executive orders and other policy decisions. Trump is also changing U.S. asylum policy and procedures for the worse.
Many are pushing for the Dream and Promise Act, a bill that passed the House in 2019 but has been blocked by the Republican-controlled Senate. The act would allow those with DACA, those who are DACA eligible, and other immigrants with temporary status such as TPS or Temporary Protected Status to apply for permanent resident status.
Legalization for All (L4A) deems this Supreme Court decision as a victory, but a victory that would not have been possible without undocumented immigrant youth risking everything to take political action to demand it. In 2012, they took to protesting President Obama, whose administration had the highest records of deportations in his first four years in office. Republican control of the House of Representatives blocked any decent immigration legislation. After the Obama administration had resisted taking executive action for four years, in the midst of a reelection campaign he gave in to the demand of immigrant youth and finally created the executive order on DACA. Later, Obama also issued another executive order, DAPA, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, which would have given temporary protection to many parents and family members of DACA recipients, but this was blocked by a Republican-led legal assault.
Despite this uplifting Supreme Court decision, many more undocumented people are still left with no safety net or ability to become legalized. In the last few weeks, we have seen the country reacting to the massive protests after the murder of George Floyd and others by police and racist vigilantes. To win legalization we need to rebuild a militant mass movement. Legalization for All will continue pushing for legalization for all of the undocumented, and we urge you to join this push. If you are interested, please fill out this contact form and we will tell you when the next national action is: https://legalizationforall.wordpress.com/contact-us/