CHC Chair Statement on 5th Anniversary of the Implementation of DACA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairwoman Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham released the following statement on the fifth anniversary of the implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This anniversary comes as ten Republican Attorneys General issued a threat to challenge DACA in court if the Trump Administration does not terminate the program by September 5^th:

"DACA has been transformative to the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people and has resulted in economic gains for cities, states and our nation as a whole. Not only is defending and continuing DACA the morally right thing to do, it is economically beneficial for the nation. That is why the vast majority of Americans, regardless of their political affiliation, overwhelmingly support the DACA program. It is imperative that we keep our promise to the nearly 800,000 DACA recipients who stepped out of the shadows, applied for the program and make meaningful contributions to their communities. The ramifications of rescinding this critical program would not only devastate DACA recipients and their families but also hurts local communities and economies.

"The President has commented on the need to handle DACA with compassion and with heart, which is a sentiment that the majority of Americans agree with. Now is the time for the President and his administration to act on these words. I urge President Trump to defend DACA against any threats and to commit to supporting one of the many bipartisan pieces of legislation that provide a permanent and fair solution for immigrants who arrived in the United States as children."

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