NLIRH: DACA REPEAL TO BE MET WITH FIERCE RESISTANCE

Washington, D.C. — Today, President Trump announced his hateful and inhumane plan to end DACA, the program that has provided relief from deportation and work authorization to about 800,000 undocumented youth.

“It is beyond shameful that President Trump would eliminate DACA to appease the white supremacists inside and outside his administration. Following his disgraceful reaction to the bigotry and hate in Charlottesville and his pardon of Joe Arpaio, a symbol of racism who terrorized our communities, it is crystal clear that under Trump’s white nationalist agenda, immigrant lives are disposable. Racism, bigotry, classism, xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny and discrimination have been further indoctrinated in our society” said Margie Del Castillo, associate director of community mobilization for the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health.

“The repeal of DACA is unconscionable, and this move will be met with a fierce resistance. We will not sit idly by as the administration criminalizes our community, detains our mothers, and deports our youth. Every human being, regardless of their immigration status, deserves the right to live without fear of being abused, detained, deported or killed due to politics. Living in such a state of fear limits our communities ability to live full, normal, and healthy lives, including obtaining access to essential and critical healthcare. We call on Congress to pass the bipartisan Dream Act of 2017, which creates a path to citizenship for Dreamers, without using their parents and loved ones as bargaining chips. We also call for bold leadership that rises up to join the unyielding efforts of our community in standing up to the hate and violence of the Trump administration and seek permanent legislative solutions that will protect all immigrants under threat in this country. Let today serve as a warning that our community of women, immigrants, youth, workers, and allies across the entire country are organizing to continue to build our collective power to resist the xenophobia that plagues this country and threatens our lives. Today we stand more united than ever.”

For more information on NLIRH’s fight for health, dignity and justice, visit us at latinainstitute.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @NLIRH.

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The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health is the only national reproductive justice organization dedicated to building Latina power to advance health, dignity, and justice for 28 million Latinas, their families, and communities in the United States through leadership development, community mobilization, policy advocacy, and strategic communications.