The ACLU of Wyoming Responds to DACA Termination

The American Civil Liberties Union of Wyoming recently issued a response to President Donald Trump’s announcement of the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA Program.

Sabrina King, policy director of the ACLU of Wyoming, issued the response Tuesday in a statement on their website.

In the statement, King said rescinding the program was breaking promises to the youth who depend on DACA and called on Wyoming's congressional delegation to decide whether or not they will support DACA.

“. . . Five years ago, the federal government made a deal with immigrant youth: As long as you pass a criminal background check you can live, study, and work here. Hundreds of thousands of young people came out of the shadows and accepted the government’s offer in good faith and worked hard to build their lives here.

Today, the government and President Trump went back on their word, threw the lives and futures of 800,000 Dreamers and their families into disarray, and injected chaos and uncertainty into thousands of workplaces and communities across America.

In Wyoming alone, 600 of our neighbors used their DACA status to give back to our country in innumerable ways: they are our doctors, soldiers, and students. Our neighbors, family, and friends.

“Now, the fate of 800,000 young adults, who call this country their home, lies in the hands of Congress. Lawmakers such as Representative Cheney, Senator Enzi, and Senator Barrasso must decide if they are on the side of Dreamers and our country’s foundation, or on the side of the ugly forces that helped to end DACA.

While this is a hard day for the immigrant community and America as a whole, we will continue to fight. Years of courage, sacrifices, and organizing won the DACA program in 2012. Nothing will deter these Americans and our allies in Wyoming and across the country from continuing to fight on behalf of their futures and holding those responsible accountable.”

DACA was created by the Obama administration in 2012. It allows children brought into the U.S illegally by their parents to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be able to work, get U.S. driver’s licenses and study in U.S. colleges and universities, as long as they had clean criminal records.