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Statement

‘Heartless and Devastating to Our Youth’: MomsRising Leader Reacts to Reports President Trump Is About to End DACA Program

August 25, 2017
Immigration

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director and CEO of MomsRising, a national online and on-the-ground organization of more than 1 million mothers and their families
“It would be heartless and devastating to our youth and our country if President Trump were to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which since 2012 has provided some 800,000 young adults who were brought to this country as children with opportunities to live, learn, work and contribute to their communities and the economy. They contribute tremendously to our country’s strength and vitality.  
 
“Ending DACA and taking away the ability of these young people to legally work and pursue their education would be cruel, hurt our economy and communities, and would signal that President Trump is siding once again with the white supremacists inside and outside his administration. It would also be further evidence that he is out of step with the 78 percent of voters who support a path to legal status for these young DREAMers.
 
“Rescinding DACA would be nothing short of disastrous to our economy. Removing so many young people from the workforce would reduce the country’s GDP, saddle employers with billions of dollars in unnecessary turnover costs, and significantly reduce contributions to Medicare and Social Security.
 
“America’s mothers do not want to build walls and tear families apart. Moms know that young people flourish when they have hope and opportunity.  Instead of ending DACA, President Trump should protect family unity and end the human rights abuses that are occurring in the name of immigration law enforcement. And he should support U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who recently introduced the bipartisan DREAM Act of 2017 – urgently needed legislation that would provide a path to legal status for these young people who were brought to the United States as children.”
 

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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.