At MEDA, we have had the privilege to work alongside amazing young Dreamers who are an integral part of the bright future of our community — and the nation. Our organization has long taken proactive steps to ensure these talented Latinx community members still have a chance to attain the American Dream.
That is why we wholeheartedly back today’s Supreme Court decision that for the time being keeps Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) intact. The court’s majority concluded that the decision to phase-out DACA was unlawful because it did not weigh all the options to curtail the program and never accounted for the interests of those involved.
President Obama did the right thing when in 2012 he signed the executive order creating DACA. Conversely, it was un-American — and immoral — when the Trump administration revoked the promise of fair treatment and equal opportunity. Such a broken promise was a travesty not just for the estimated 650,000 Dreamers, but for our entire nation.
Most Dreamers were brought to this country by their parents, who were escaping violence, political hostility or abject poverty and were in search of a better life. These families’ children have only known the United States as their home.
It is unconscionable to tell Dreamers — who have attained college and graduate degrees, enlisted in the military and work hard each day, as 27,000 nurses are currently doing during a pandemic — that they must now go back to a country they do not even know. A place where they may not even speak the language. A place where they would feel more like a tourist. A place they have never called home.
Separating families is indefensible — and today’s Supreme Court decision means that will not happen at this time.
MEDA vows to continue to:
- Stand alongside our immigrant community, including working to defeat any future efforts to end DACA.
- Offer opportunity to Dreamers and their families, especially through assistance with jobs, tax preparation, small-business development and affordable housing.
- Advocate for resources to strengthen Dreamers and their families.
- Support Democratic lawmakers’ just-stated push for a more permanent solution for Dreamers.
Today, we reaffirm our support of all DACA recipients, as they continue on their well-deserved path to the American Dream.
In solidarity,
Luis Granados
Chief Executive Officer
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