STATEMENT: The end of the DACA program and the future for Dreamers

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Photo: AP/Craig Ruttle

We are deeply saddened by today’s announcement, confirming that the Administration plans to end the highly successful Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This decision places at risk the nearly 800,000 current DACA recipients—including 7,000 here in South Carolina.

For us these are more than statistics. When we think of those affected by this decision names and faces come to mind of young people we have come to know and love. We know firsthand how they add so much life and beauty to the communities where they live. For most of these young men and women, the United States is the only home they have ever known. The United States is “their country”.

At SC Appleseed, we are committed to continuing to stand for these wonderful, young Dreamers who only want the same thing that we all want—the opportunity to succeed in the land we all call home. For this reason, Congress should pass protections—such as the DREAM Act of 2017. Not as a bargaining chip to be used to further political motives, but simply to do the right thing.

Allowing Dreamers to legally remain and providing a realistic pathway to citizenship is the right thing. It’s the right thing for Dreamers. It’s the right thing for our economy. It’s the right thing for South Carolina.