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Know Your Rights
Category: Immigration

We wrote to the Supreme Court: Don’t rule on DACA without considering COVID-19

Today we’re telling the Supreme Court: don’t rule on DACA without considering COVID-19.

Our members with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) have been at the forefront of the fight to defend DACA for 700,000 immigrants and their families, and now they’re helping support their communities and families through an unprecedented crisis.

As plaintiffs in the lead lawsuit, currently in front of the Supreme Court, to stop Trump’s reckless decision to end the program, we have filed a letter to the Justices asking them to consider the impact of COVID-19 before ruling. At this time of crisis, upholding Trump’s termination of DACA, and depriving those 700,000 people of their deportation protections and their jobs, would undermine our public health.

Read and share the New York Times exclusive about our letter here, using the hashtag #HomeIsHere.

Without DACA, recipients and their families will be left without access to necessary health screening, coverage, and treatment during this pandemic, while being placed in the pipeline for deportation by ICE.  Ending DACA would only exacerbate the public health and economic crises that our communities are facing. What’s more, 27,000 DACA recipients across the country are healthcare workers, providing vital services amidst a pandemic. Many thousands more are on the front lines providing other community support.

After reading the New York Times article, please share on Twitter! Click here to Tweet.

Take Eliana Fernandez, Lead Organizer at Make the Road New York and plaintiff in our lawsuit. As she explains, “The COVID-19 pandemic is devastating our communities, and immigrants like me with DACA are frantically working to support our families and communities, all while trying to keep our loved ones safe and healthy. At the community organization where I work, I am working each day to provide support to thousands of our members who are being hit hardest by this crisis. We urge the Court to consider that a decision to take away DACA from us at this moment would be catastrophic, putting us and our families at grave risk.”

We’ve always known that Trump’s decision to end DACA violated the law and the principles of respect and dignity for all. But amidst COVID-19, it’s more important than ever that the Supreme Court reject the administration’s hateful policies and stand with immigrants.

¡Sí se puede!