Today’s gut-wrenching announcement regarding the elimination of DACA, perfectly demonstrates the callousness and deception of the Trump administration. With the statement delivered by Attorney General Jeff Sessions – a statement that President Trump didn’t have the courage to deliver himself – more than 800,000 people’s lives were thrown into immediate turmoil.
Children who were brought to this country by their parents (by whatever means), who have grown up here, built a life here, and who consider America just as much their home as any citizen, should be welcomed and given a path to realize the American Dream.
There is no denying the need for comprehensive immigration reform and enforcement, but at the same time we must uphold our shared national values to embrace and lift up the vulnerable who would otherwise be cast off.
There is no excusing the lack of leadership on the part of Trump and his administration, which has passed the buck to Congress and given no clarity as to the fate of hundreds of thousands of people who call America home. Now is the time for bold and decisive action. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO is therefore committed to working with Congress to ensure that Dreamers are protected, just as the labor movement fights to uphold our values of fairness and justice every day.