Catalyst Miami Regrets Rescission of DACA

September 6, 2017

Catalyst Miami is dismayed and very concerned by the Trump administration's announcement that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will be rescinded, placing more than 800,000 young adults in peril of deportation, losing their jobs, and being back in the shadows. DACA is a successful, bipartisan program that makes fiscal sense and is morally necessary.

Those affected are people who were brought to the U.S. as children, who consider this their home, and who contribute greatly to our communities. DACA allows them to continue their studies, provide for themselves and their families, and contribute to our economy.  The decision to end this program signals to these young people that they do not belong here and that hard work and perseverance are not rewarded in this country.  Eliminating DACA weakens our communities by diminishing their members' resources and ability to make a living.

Young people who work hard and love this country enough to hang on to the mere hope of one day attaining legal status deserve the chance to stay here without the looming threat of deportation.  DACA recipients enrich our country with their labor, their ideas, and their commitment. What we need is a path to citizenship for DREAMers, not another threat to hard working families who are a part of our society. We urge our partners and all members of our community to call upon Congress to act and pass legislation to protect young Americans who happen to be born in other countries.