CONTACT INFORMATION: Johanna Carpio
johanna@ncapaonline.org
[***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***]
RELEASE DATE:
October 11th, 2022
Washington, DC — NCAPA issued the following statement following the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to send consideration of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program back to U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen. DACA has provided the opportunity for over 830,000 young people to live and work without immediate fear of deportation. Currently, DACA remains in place and current recipients are still able to renew their DACA.
The Court’s decision, while providing temporary relief for DACA recipients, underscores the need for a permanent, workable path to citizenship for thousands of individuals who represent the best of America. “We need Congress to do its job and come together on an issue most Americans agree on. Until we have a permanent solution, countless Asian American Pacific Islanders risk being uprooted from their families, their homes, their education and their occupations.”
Ju Hong, DACA Recipient and Board Member of the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) stated:
“I am deeply disappointed yet not surprised by the Fifth Circuit’s ruling. This case impacts hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients and their families nationwide. This decision is also a stark reminder that DACA is a vulnerable, temporary program with limitations. While the case will likely move up to the Supreme Court hearing, the Biden administration and Members of Congress have yet to fulfill their promise to secure a permanent solution for millions of undocumented immigrant communities. The immigrant community is tired of empty promises and thwarted expectations. The immigrant youth will continue to take charge and matters into their own hands and organize our community to take action on immigration to push for a pathway to citizenship for all.”
John C. Yang, President and Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) said:
“The DACA program has forever changed the lives of over 600,000 DACA recipients for the better, including over 14,000 Asian Americans and 150 Pacific Islander Americans, and we are disappointed that the Fifth Circuit has thrown the lives of these individuals and their families into turmoil. DACA has been a clear success, with benefits not just for DACA recipients—who have started families, found better jobs, and bought homes thanks in part to the protections of DACA—but also for the nation. This court decision emphasizes what we’ve been saying for too long: Congress must act now to create a pathway to citizenship for our undocumented communities.”
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DACA has been in place for 10 years and grants immigrants who arrived as children before June 2007 to apply for protection from deportation and work permits. There are about 14,000 Asian American and 150 Pacific Islander DACA recipients.