Washington, DC – Today people of faith recognize the ten year anniversary of the creation of the DACA program, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—a hard-fought victory secured by immigrant youth. While DACA has been an important protection for over 800,000 young people, we know it has just been a band-aid: a small, short-term solution to a large, long-term problem of an outdated immigration system. As merely a band-aid, DACA has been vulnerable to numerous legal challenges over the years that have caused young people to live in constant fear and uncertainty.
This week, member organizations of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) joined the Home is Here campaign, American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), FWD.us, and other advocacy groups in meeting with members of Congress about the urgent need to pass permanent protections—not just for DACA recipients, but for all of our immigrant neighbors, friends, family members, and fellow congregants. These demands are not new, but come from years of faithful and faith-filled advocacy across the U.S. for citizenship for all.
The IIC joins DACA recipients, Dreamers, and all undocumented immigrants in calling for an immediate end to the threat of deportation and the uncertainty of temporary solutions. All immigrants have human rights and are worthy of safety, self-determination, protection, family unity, and freedom. A decade after the government applied a temporary solution, Congress must do its job to deliver broad permanent protections for all immigrants with deep ties to the place they call home.
“We shouldn’t have reached 10 years. Yes, we celebrate, but 10 years is a long time for people to wait for relief,” said Itzel Hernandez, DACA recipient and Immigrant Rights Organizer with the American Friends Service Committee in New Jersey. “This day signifies triumph in the power of undocumented youth and communities, but also the failure of Congress. We – the youth – have kept the program alive. Our stories are a statement to the determination to live here without fear with our families. But I don’t want to celebrate another 10 year anniversary. We need to hold Congress accountable and keep organizing to build something that will last.”
“Catholic teaching compels us to welcome our siblings who are immigrants and refugees, and the DACA program embodies this teaching,” said Mary J. Novak, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. “But today, millions of immigrants face the threat of detention and deportation without any protection. DACA alone is temporary and thus, more must be done to meet our moral obligation to ‘love our neighbor.’ I am proud to join dedicated immigrant rights advocates, DACA recipients, Dreamers, and all undocumented immigrants in urging President Biden and Congress to deliver permanent protections for all immigrants.”
“Based on Quaker principle, the Friends Committee on National Legislation holds that we are all morally and spiritually compelled to honor the humanity of every member of society. Ten years since DACA, it is hard to see congressional inaction to protect Dreamers and undocumented immigrants as anything less than systemically designed,” said Anika Forrest, Migration Policy Legislative Manager at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. “As relentless supporters of immigrants’ rights, we advocate today – and always – to overcome policies rooted in cruelty and fear and inscribe inclusive practices. Just like the children of Israel, who did not relent in the face of insurmountable barriers, we will see the waters of oppression part. Nothing short of citizenship is acceptable for Dreamers and all of our undocumented communities.”
“Franciscan Action Network (FAN) has been on the ten year seesaw ride with DACA recipients as they were alternately lifted up by excitement, gratitude, and encouragement, then slammed down by disappointment, delay, and fatigue,” said Sister Marie Lucey OSF, Associate Director at Franciscan Action Network. “As Franciscan people of faith, we have ridden with them, following their lead. These young women and men have studied and worked, many of them serving as essential workers during the worst of Covid years. Some married and became parents of U.S. citizen children. As years passed, they advocated not only for themselves but also for their families. They made us aware that DACA includes over 10,000 Black immigrant youth. During turbulent times, two factors have remained constant: one, DACA recipients have never given up hope, inspiring those who advocate with them; two, DACA status is temporary and a permanent solution is in the hands of Congress who must provide permanent protections for DACA and TPS recipients and their families. We Franciscans call on Congress to act, and we call on God to move the minds and hearts of elected officials to do the right, good thing.”
“Over these last 10 years, through personal encounters and at marches and rallies in Washington DC, we have heard and witnessed the heartache and resilience of DACA recipients and their families as they have fought against the constant threat of deportation and for the government to recognize that their home is here,” said Susan Gunn, Director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. “We stand with DACA recipients as they continue to cry out for a permanent solution. We urge Congress to act now. One day of living in fear is too long – ten years is outrageous.”
“For a decade, DACA recipients have studied, worked, and served in the armed forces of a country they belong to but still does not recognize them as their own. We have witnessed their contributions to our nation and our communities. We have also been participants in their fears and uncertainties. We Cooperative Baptists celebrate the lives of DACA recipients on the 10th anniversary of the program as they represent one of the greatest modern examples of patriotic resilience,” said Elket Rodriguez, Immigrants and Refugees Advocacy and Missions Specialist for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. “As we celebrate their lives, we call on the United States Congress to act now. After six U.S. Congresses and three Presidents, a permanent solution is the moral minimum DACA recipients deserve today. ”
“Over the past ten years, we have marched, rallied, and advocated with DACA recipients and their families as they live with the constant threat of separation and deportation,” said Barbara Weinstein, Director, Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism. “While DACA gave protections to over 800,000 young people, it was only intended to be and remains a temporary solution. In Leviticus we are taught ‘the stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt’ (19:34). No one should have to live in fear of their lives being suddenly turned upside down by abrupt policy changes. Reform Jews across the country stand with DACA recipients and continue to call on Congress to act.”
Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness, said, “Dreamers have fought tirelessly for their rights and lives to be respected and their voices to be heard. They have been caught in this limbo for far too long. This is not a question of politics, but rather the morality of the American people. We ask our nation’s leaders to act on the values that are foundational to our faith – to love our neighbors.”
“Many CCDA leaders (some of whom are immigrants) experience and witness firsthand the unnecessary hardships our immigrant neighbors face as a result of a broken immigration system,” said Christina Foor, Advocacy Lead of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA). “We recognize the churches and community-based program leaders within our association who remain committed to work alongside immigrants. We applaud and support the good justice work they are doing. Many have been an integral part of DACA advocacy over the last 10 years, through campaigns such as Camino de Sueños (Path of Dreams), a pilgrimage of art, stories, and action, bringing together the hopes and dreams of undocumented youth and carrying them together to Congress. We continue to cry out alongside DACA recipients, Dreamers, and all undocumented immigrants and ask Congress to act now. There is strong bi-partisan support for a solution to create a pathway toward citizenship and we urge Congress to take a step forward out of our outdated immigration system.”
“Catholic Sisters have accompanied our immigrant neighbors in schools, hospitals, and social service agencies along the border and across the country for a long time. We know first-hand the fear and uncertainty that plagues immigrant young people and their families. DACA has provided temporary protection and some sense of security to our communities. It is well past time we made that protection permanent,” said Ann Scholz, SSND, Associate Director for Social Mission, Leadership Conference of Women Religious. “LCWR will continue to stand with the hundreds of thousands of undocumented youths and their families. With them we call on Congress to move expeditiously to enact legislation that provides a clear path to citizenship for our immigrant neighbors without increasing funding for detention, deportation, further border militarization, and without threatening family unity.”
“Our God and our faith call us to love the children and to listen to the children. They are all dreamers but many of those who grew up American have had their lives upended with the threat of deportation through no fault of their own. These Dreamers need a solid, permanent foundation on which to build their lives. The National Advocacy Center honors these Dreamers on the 10th anniversary of DACA and calls on Congress and President Biden to secure our social fabric that we have woven together by making DACA permanent and freeing these young people from threats and intimidation. End their nightmares; give them back their dreams,” said Fran Eskin-Royer, Executive Director, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.
“For over a decade, undocumented young people have inspired us with their dynamism and courageous voices” said Giovana Oaxaca, Program Director for Migration Policy for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and chair of the IIC’s Citizenship Working Group. “Through their lived experience of deep struggle and fearful uncertainty, they have ignited hope and challenged us to work to address broader racial and social injustices. The ever-present threat of separation continues to cause unnecessary hardship and grief within our families, churches and communities – and we know for each DACA recipient, it is estimated that there are ten times that many in the United States who don’t have any status at all. Because DACA is a transformational but temporary policy, Congress should heed the call of advocates, amplified by DACA recipients and supporters across the political spectrum, to pass permanent protections for all with deep ties to this country. We can expect only more transformational and mutually beneficial results. Through faith, we are overflowing with all good things in Christ. We recognize and celebrate the good work individuals are leading and join in commemorating this important date.”
“We applaud the incredible benefits DACA has brought to hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth through allowing them to live a full life following their educational and career goals without fear of deportation,” stated Rev. Noel Andersen, Director of Grassroots Organizing for Church World Service. “We know that this was meant to be a temporary fix, and even in its broad popularity, it has come under threat due to ongoing attacks from anti-immigrant politics designed to fear monger. Ten years later, it has become increasingly urgent that we call on Congress to push forward longterm solutions by passing a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented people now.”
“The United Methodist Church believes in the invaluable gifts of immigrants and migrant families. We celebrate this 10 year anniversary of DACA and what it has provided those who participate in our society,” said Rev. Kendal L. McBroom, Director of Civil and Human Rights for the General Board of Church and Society. “On its anniversary, we urge Congress to create a clearer path to citizenship for DACA recipients and all undocumented individuals in order to provide them the peace and protection necessary to function and thrive in this nation.”
Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries said, “Beyond compare, the citizenship skills of DACA recipients have been on full display throughout the years of this past decade; showing courage beyond fear, demonstrating unity and persistence in organizing, relentlessly strategizing to accomplish goals, focusing on education and developing careers, and always generously seeking to protect others as well as themselves. Our government’s refusal to enact permanent protections for DACA recipients is both senseless and cruel. Congress, people of faith call upon you to embrace the long-overdue legacy of hope you can offer to families. We invite you to follow the prophet’s urging to “make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19) that would benefit our entire nation, by passing a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients immediately.”
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of over 55 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants. Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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