July 28, 2020, Hyattsville, MD – CASA issued the following statement after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memo shredding the DACA program, again attempting to effectuate President Trump’s relentless assault on DACA recipients. This action was taken despite a clear mandate from the federal courts to reinstate DACA. The memo indicates that no new applications will be accepted, advance parole will be considered only in extreme circumstances, and DACA renewals can continue at the same price but for half the time. 

 

“Yet again, the Trump administration has flagrantly ignored decisions from the Supreme Court and the Maryland District Court,” said CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres. “The CASA DACA court case was a victory for immigrant families that Trump couldn’t swallow: he was instructed to restore the DACA program to where it stood before he tried to terminate it three years ago. Trump has instead gone in the opposite direction of the court’s mandate, attempting to sow confusion and fear as the administration rips apart the DACA program. If Trump is waiting for us to tire of calling him out on his illegal actions, he has made a crucial mistake: nothing will stop us from protecting immigrant families from illegal, oppressive actions of a well-known white supremacist.”

 

“I submitted my DACA application just days after the Supreme Court ruled that USCIS had to accept new applicants,” Arlette Morales, CASA Member in York, Pennsylvania. “I was not yet 15 when Trump cancelled DACA the first time. Today’s memo is a direct attack on me, my family, and thousands of other families like mine. But we know that justice and the American people are on our side, and we will continue to fight back in the courts, in Congress, and at the ballot box in November.”

 

CASA calls on the Senate to extend EADs by passing the HEROES Act and pass legislation to provide permanent relief to DACA and TPS holders and their families.

 

“This man is biding his time until after the election to kill DACA and deport the thousands of young people who have and are eligible for DACA,” closed Torres. “He doesn’t want to deal with the political fallout that would result from shredding this wildly popular program. That’s why we have to stop him now with a bulletproof congressional plan offering permanent protection for immigrant families.”

 

###