With one, brief sentence, the Supreme Court has dashed the hopes of millions of immigrant parents who desperately wish for nothing more than to come out of the shadows, secure in the knowledge that they will not be ripped away from their U.S. born children. Dashed too are the hopes of young people, raised in the United States from childhood, who want nothing more than to be fully contributing members of the country they now call home. With the Supreme Court’s summary dismissal of the government’s appeal in U.S. v. Texas, both the Deferred Action for Parents of U.S. Citizens (DAPA) program and the extension of the Deferred Action Program for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) remain on hold indefinitely.
What a sad day for the immigrant community. While the decision is not entirely surprising, it is none the less deeply disappointing that yet another effort to provide justice for the millions of immigrants who continue to be at risk of detention and removal has been stymied. At CAIR Coalition we are at the frontlines of the fight to keep immigrant families together. We see firsthand the devastating impact on the spouses and children left behind when their loved one is being held in immigration detention. Like a pebble being cast into a lake, the ripple effect spreads far and wide. Mothers now must work double shifts in order to make up for an absent breadwinner, leaving them even less time to support and comfort their children who mourn the loss of their father. Children become overwhelmed with grief and sadness and start to do poorly in school. Even if we are successful in bringing their loved one home, the economic and emotional damage created in the wake of their detention is not easily healed.
As a country we can do better. A majority of Americans support a pathway to citizenship for the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. The president’s executive action in the form of DAPA and DACA would have helped roughly 4 million of those immigrants. Therefore, while it was an important start, there was always more work that would need to be done. But now, even that modest start has been put on hold. The spotlight now needs to be put back on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. A majority of Americans want it and there are a myriad of studies that confirm its economic benefits. June is Immigrant Heritage Month. What better way to celebrate the month then to renew our commitment to pushing Congress to do its job and pass legislation that benefits us all.
Photo by Steven Rubin
