NORTH CAROLINA— Immigrant rights’ groups, including the ACLU of North Carolina, Adelante Coalition, CIMA, Comunidad Colectiva, El Pueblo, LatinxEd, Out Turn, Poder NC Action, Student Action with Farmworkers, Undocumented Filmmakers Collective applaud the Supreme Court’s decision today on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) vacating the Trump administration’s rescission of DACA.
“Thanks to the undocumented youth who put their bodies on the line to demand protection from deportation from then President Obama we have DACA. This is a win for all the DACA recipients who put their lives on the line for the safety of many,” said Stefania Arteaga, Statewide Immigrants’ Rights Organizer with the ACLU of North Carolina.“Today, we celebrate but know that the fight is not over. For nearly three years, DACA recipients have lived in a legal limbo and now we’re calling on lawmakers to permanently protect all undocumented immigrants and for North Carolina to do more.”
“When DACA was rescinded I felt like I was starting to lose hope and I had to mentally prepare myself for a life outside of the United States once I graduated,” said Dariana Valencia, student organizer with Our Turn and El Pueblo. “Today’s decision is so emotional because I don't feel like my future has an expiration date anymore.”
The coalition of organizations is calling on lawmakers to support the Black Lives Matter demands to divest from the police and reinvest in housing, education, economic support, climate justice, healthcare, and mental health services.
“Just like there are Black DACA recipients, Black and Brown lives are also impacted by the same overcriminalization and our struggles for freedom intersect. We are not only calling for divestment from police but also a defunding of ICE and CBP, for a clean DREAM Act, and fair immigration reform,” said Maria Mayorga, DACA recipient.
Approximately 24,000 DACA recipients that benefit from the program reside in North Carolina and nearly 11,000 DACA recipients are from countries where more than half of the nations’ immigrants to the United States are black. Additionally, the Migration Policy Institute estimates that roughly 36,000 African immigrants would have been eligible for DACA.