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Statement

Moms Urge Congress to Fix DACA in 2022

November 14, 2022
Immigration

Lisa Lederer, 202/371-1996

Statement of Donna Norton, Executive Vice President of MomsRising, the online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on the urgent need for Congress to fix DACA before the year ends:

“Ending DACA (the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program) would be devastating, not just for the 600,000+ people enrolled in the program but for hundreds of thousands of their children and families, as well as for America's workforce, communities, and our economy. Yet courts may be poised to do just that. That’s why it is so urgent that Congress act before the end of the year to create permanent protections for the hundreds of thousands of people who were brought to this country as children, making it the only place they have ever called home.

“DACA recipients are our doctors and nurses, teachers, child care and construction workers. They hold essential jobs that make our communities stronger and more successful. If Congress again fails to create a path to citizenship for DACA recipients, they will be forced to continue living with uncertainty and the well-founded fear that their families will be torn apart.

“It is shameful that Congress has failed, for so many years, to provide permanent protections to this community. That must change. Voters rejected hate, cruelty and extremism in last week’s election. A clear majority has supported a legislative fix for DACA for nearly a decade. The time for Congress to act is during the lame-duck session. Every immigrant deserves to be treated with dignity, compassion and respect.”

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.