Civil and Human Rights Coalition Dismayed by Trump’s Cruel Decision to End DACA

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement in response to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement that President Trump is ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:

“President Trump’s decision to end DACA in six months is inhumane, cruel and shameful. There is no legal, ethical, or moral justification for ending DACA, which is a lawful program. President Trump manufactured this unnecessary crisis.  Congress must now act immediately to pass the Dream Act without any partisan, divisive amendments to permanently protect these young people who make our country stronger every day.

Ending DACA will devastate the lives of young men and women who have essentially known no home other than America. This is the latest in a series of mean-spirited, politically-motivated actions by President Trump that further corrodes his morally bankrupt administration and furthers an agenda supported by White supremacists and bigots. The president should be supporting efforts to create a legal path to allowing Dreamers to stay – not kicking them to the curb. At every turn, the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant, anti-civil rights agenda hurts the vulnerable among us and ultimately, the American dream.

This administration often talks about law and order, but ending DACA does not make us safer. DACA recipients already undergo a background check to ensure that they are not a threat to public safety. Sending people deeper into the shadows will only hurt our economy, make our communities less safe, and darken the indelible stain on the Trump administration.

More than 800,000 Dreamers have had their requests for DACA approved since the program was put in place. Those young people are making significant economic contributions to our country, with the vast majority of DACA recipients working and earning 40 percent more than they otherwise would have. Ending DACA would be a disaster for our economy. Some estimates show that eliminating DACA will lead to a $460.3 billion loss in GDP over a decade. The Leadership Conference stands united in support of all Dreamers, and we call on Congress to act immediately.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.