Rep. Clark, Dreamers and advocates speak out as U.S. Supreme Court hears DACA case

WHO:

U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, Cambridge Mayor Marc C. McGovern, MIRA Coalition and DACA recipients

WHEN:

TOMORROW, November 12, 10 am

WHAT:

Press conference on implications for Mass. residents of the DACA case being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, and call to action to protect Dreamers permanently

WHERE:

Mayor’s Parlor, Cambridge City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge

CAMBRIDGE – Tomorrow at 10 a.m., the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether the Trump administration acted lawfully when it rescinded DACA in September 2017. At stake is the future of about 661,000 “Dreamers” across the U.S. – and hundreds of thousands more who qualified for DACA and could apply if the program is restored.

In Massachusetts, more than 8,000 immigrants have benefited from DACA since President Barack Obama offered protection to childhood arrivals in 2012. About 5,600 are still enrolled.

As the Supreme Court hearing gets started in Washington, local DACA recipients will speak about the implications for their lives, supported by U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, Cambridge Mayor Marc C. McGovern, and the MIRA Coalition.

The Trump administration claimed it had to rescind DACA because it was “unconstitutional,” but the President himself has said multiple times that he has the legal power to protect Dreamers. However, he has sought major concessions in exchange, such as border wall funding and cuts to legal immigration.

DACA protects immigrants who arrived in the U.S. before age 16, no later than June 2007. Their average age today is 26, and well over two-thirds are 21 or older. DACA has enabled them to access higher education, work legally, advance their careers, buy homes, and start a family without fear.

DACA recipients and their households pay an estimated $5.7 billion in federal taxes and $3.1 billion in state and local taxes per year, and they hold a combined $24.1 billion in spending power. Should they lose protection and face deportation, nearly 256,000 U.S. citizen children would be affected, and employers all across the economy would lose prized bilingual, bicultural workers.

Yet even if Dreamers prevail, their future would remain uncertain. They would still have no path to permanent residency, and the Trump administration could find a new way to end DACA.

“It is imperative that the Court restore DACA, but that’s not enough,” said Eva A. Millona, executive director of MIRA. “Dreamers deserve permanent protection – and only Congress can provide it. The House has already passed the Dream and Promise Act; now it’s up to the Senate to do its part.”

“Dreamers are American in every sense of the word except a piece of paper,” said Congresswoman Clark, who co-sponsored the Dream and Promise Act. “They contribute to this country and our Commonwealth as students, entrepreneurs, nurses, teachers, and much more. Many have never known another home. We owe it to them to provide a pathway to citizenship.”

MIRA is the largest coalition in New England promoting the rights and integration of immigrants and refugees. Founded in 1987, and now with offices in Boston and Manchester, N.H., we serve about 1.2 million foreign-born people in the region through policy analysis and advocacy, institutional organizing, education and training, leadership development, and strategic communications.