Advocacy Groups Reject Trump WH’s Cruel, Anti-Immigrant Demands on DACA
Advocacy groups across the country condemn the Trump Administration's anti-immigrant wishlist and call on Congress to swiftly pass the bipartisan DREAM Act. Democrats remain committed to fighting for DREAMers and are turning up the heat on Congressional Republicans to give the American people a vote on the DREAM Act.
"750,000 lives hang in the balance; now is not the time for political tactics disguised as ‘immigration priorities' to doom the DREAM Act. President Trump has gone back on a promise to support a clean bill and instead is now seeking to sabotage legislation aimed at giving these young people a chance for a stable and prosperous future by loading the bill with unpopular and controversial measures. Sending these so-called ‘conditions' to Congress is simply a way to stop the bipartisan effort behind a clean DREAM bill. Trump should keep his promise to DREAMers, do what's best for the nation and respond to the will of the American people who overwhelmingly support a clean DREAM Act." [10/9/17]
"The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas join with immigrant advocates across the country in rejecting, in the strongest possible terms, the immoral anti-immigrant, anti-human rights, anti-family provisions in the Trump Administration Immigration Policy Priorities, issued on Sunday evening, October 8. It is shameful and unconscionable that these provisions, including building a Southern border wall and expedited deportations, are being proposed as conditions for taking action to protect from deportation young undocumented immigrants, known as Dreamers, who were brought to the United States as children and know no other home. These provisions violate the dignity of the Dreamers and use these young people as bargaining chips in a cruel political game. Furthermore, these provisions directly contradict President Trump's promise and responsibility to our Dreamers." [10/10/17]
"Because of the Trump Administration's decision to terminate DACA in six months, [bipartisan legislation] must be passed as quickly as possible so that the benefits to Dreamers, to our cities, and to our nation can continue. It would remove Dreamers' fears of deportation and allow them to contribute even more to the country they love, which for many is the only country they have known. They would be able to reach their full potential in many ways, including serving in the military." [10/10/17]
"Again and again, it's clear that when it comes to immigration, any common sense that might come out of the White House gets crushed by the real man in charge: Jeff Sessions and his loyal staffer Stephen Miller. Tonight's list is an attempt to bring the rest of the White House back in line with their sick worldview. The immigrant youth of United We Dream are calling for a clean Dream Act because we know we are in a life and death moment. It is a bipartisan bill with the support of the American people, a long history and it would pass tomorrow if Republican leaders allow it to get a vote." [10/8/17]
"President Trump signed off on a long list of poison pill measures that threatens to kill the chances of enacting the Dream Act this year. In doing so, Trump seems to be following the lead of White House advisor Stephen Miller and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, both of whom are ardent opponents of anything that would result in legal status for Dreamers … They will go down in history as the architects of one of the cruelest moves in American history: exposing 800,000 American young people to deportation from the country they love to countries they barely remember." [10/8/17]
"This is a callous and manipulative attempt to hold young undocumented immigrants hostage in exchange for securing some of the most retrograde and un-American immigration policies this country has ever seen. We are troubled by every one of the President's demands but especially those proposals that will make it more difficult for immigrants to seek asylum, target and criminalize unaccompanied children arriving at our borders, and enact punitive measures against so-called ‘sanctuary cities.' Even for an administration that has distinguished itself for its singular cruelty toward immigrants, the proposals released this weekend are outrageous." [10/9/17]
"Once again, the president is proving that his comments expressing vague support for DREAMers are shallow. Were he serious, he would not be issuing a list of demands related to other aspects of immigration that have nothing to do with DREAMers. The demands are part of the white supremacist anti-immigrant agenda, such as the border wall and expanding grounds for deportations, that have nothing to do with DREAMers. We have said this before and we say it again: DREAMers will not be bargaining chips in exchange for white supremacists getting their hateful agenda through Congress. Period. The president's demands are a non-starter. We demand a clean DREAM Act." [10/9/17]
"KIND wholeheartedly rejects the Trump Administration's cynical attempts to play vulnerable populations against each other and its callous disregard for the lives of child refugees and asylum seekers … The White House priorities demonstrate complete disregard for the unique vulnerability of child refugees and, if implemented, would unquestionably return thousands of children to great harm and even death." [10/9/17]
National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
"Instead of engaging with members of Congress in earnest, President Trump again is bending to extremists in his cabinet and his base. This so-called ‘principles' list is nothing more than a white nationalist wish list. It has no place in a conversation about finding a solution for immigrant youth. We need Congress and the president to do the right thing for young immigrants who simply want to be recognized as the Americans they are. We need a clean Dream Act now." [10/9/17]
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
"Taken together, the package amounts to a laundry list of enforcement-only and restrictionist proposals that is not a workable solution for America's immigration system or the large undocumented population living and working here. The White House plan, if enacted, would do terrible damage to our economy and result in the deportation of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants, including many Dreamers and their families. AILA is opposed to each of the bills from which the White House drew its plan." [10/9/17]
"The White House Immigration Principles and Policies are no more than the immigration restrictionists' wish list. They are a nonstarter. There is broad bipartisan support for a permanent solution for Dreamers without poison pills attached to it. We must not squander the potential of this generation of young people who will help write the next great chapter of American history. They need a clear and permanent path forward. The White House principles ignore our American identity of being a nation of immigrants and fail to embrace the energy, innovation and opportunities that immigrants bring to our county." [10/8/17]
Fair Immigration Reform Movement
"The White House's ‘immigration principles' are nothing short of White Supremacists' list of demands to ethnically cleanse the country and intimidate black and brown communities. The lives of 800,000 young people—young Americans—are hanging in the balance as Trump plays games with members of congress. This is not a reality show; this is real life." [10/9/17]
"As with all their immigration proposals this year, the Trump Administration led by Steve Miller and Jeff Sessions continues to perpetuate a false rhetoric about immigrants, especially those who are Black or have close proximity to Blackness. This ‘othering' is not new, in fact it is consistent with historic white nationalism. Similar sentiments have been echoed since the end of slavery." [10/9/17]
FWD.US
"The White House staff immigration wishlist presents a series of proposals that - in additional to being very bad policy - cannot be included in any deal that can garner 218 House votes and 60 votes in the Senate. And without 218 and 60, there will not be legislation to protect Dreamers, eliminating the President's stated goal to get Congress to pass legislation like the bipartisan Dream Act to protect Dreamers. Republicans, let alone Democrats, on the hill have already made clear these are not serious proposals for any solution." [10/9/17]
Southern Border Communities Coalition
"The Trump Administration's misguided attempt to use Dreamers, and specifically Border Dreamers, as bargaining chips to further militarize the southern border region is shameful. There is broad, bipartisan support for a clean Dream Act for a reason: it is the right thing to do. The President has an obligation to act in the interest of the people of the United States and not in continuing to promote divisive policies that undermine our safety and fail to ignore the contributions of immigrants to our nation." [10/8/17]
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
"The so-called "principles" are a non-starter and un-American. Trump wants Congress to help him to put millions of additional lives at risk of deportation, turn away refugees, keep families apart, deport immigrants without due process, punish state and local governments that would rather arrest immigrant business owners than violent criminals, hurt our economy by pushing immigrants even further into the shadows, and of course build his vanity border wall … SEIU members will continue using the strength of our union to demand that Congress take immediate action and pass the bipartisan DREAM Act." [10/9/17]
National Education Association
"Sadly, the White House principles issued late Sunday nightwere anything but serious. The clock is ticking for these Dreamers. Congress needs to act now to protect DACA and to provide the certainty our Dreamers deserve. We again call on Congress to show the leadership the White House refuses to display and swiftly pass the Dream Act of 2017." [10/9/17]
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
"Last night, the White House put forth a list of demands that is meant to kill any hope for a bipartisan agreement to save Dreamers from Trump's deportation machine … Congress has before it a bipartisan Dream Act with widespread support that will solve the crisis that President Trump created. Congress should pass it without divisive amendments and without further delay." [10/9/17]
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
"The White House ‘principles' amount to nothing more than Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller's Dreamer deportation outline. Miller's wishlist of anti-immigrant policies is designed to scuttle progress for Dreamers and is afoul with unconstitutional ‘reforms.' Members of Congress of both parties who want to resolve the status of undocumented immigrant youth should recognize that these policies are a non-starter and get back to work on behalf of the vast majority of Americans who want to get something constructive done instead." [10/8/17]
Bend the Arc
"The Trump administration's latest demands confirm what we've known from the beginning: Rather than get behind common-sense, widely popular measures like a clean DREAM Act to protect immigrant youth, Trump and his allies are determined to implement an oppressive, dangerous, unjustified regime of detentions and deportations. These so-called ‘principles' are merely an attempt to translate the white nationalist agenda of senior Trump aides like Stephen Miller into concrete policy action. The radical proposals outlined in this framework, including funding for a border wall and attacks on sanctuary cities, are totally unacceptable, and Democratic leaders in Congress are right to forcefully oppose them." [10/9/17]
"This proposal is not what the public wants, nor what the country needs. There is broad, bipartisan support for a clean DREAM Act that focuses on protecting immigrant youth without deporting their parents or attacking other immigrants … Over and over again, from Charlottesville to Puerto Rico and the border, Trump and his Administration's cruelty claims the day. Members of Congress cannot make ‘deals' with the White House at the expense of the safety and sanctity of our families. We expect our elected leaders to show courage and stop this white supremacist agenda from moving forward." [10/9/17]
"The ‘priorities' released by the Trump White House do not constitute a serious policy proposal, are manipulative, and reflect either a lack of understanding or a clear misrepresentation of U.S. laws and obligations. The proposal would decimate an already fragile system of protection that the Women's Refugee Commission has repeatedly demonstrated punishes rather than protects women and children fleeing horrific violence and legally seeking asylum in the U.S. Slamming the door on those women and children flies in the face of American values, yet this administration is choosing to lock these families and unaccompanied minors in a burning house, rather than live up to our values and fix our broken immigration system. Pitting one population of vulnerable asylum seekers against another for political gain is despicable and inhumane. The Trump administration is playing with people's lives and not making America or Americans any safer in the process." [10/9/17]