Ignatian Solidarity Network Responds to Supreme Court DACA Decision

BY ISN STAFF | June 18, 2020 | español

Today the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision that the Trump Administration cannot immediately carry out its plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. While today’s ruling is a victory for DACA recipients, ensuring their continued ability to safely live and work in the U.S., the DACA program was never intended to be a permanent solution. 

Therefore, we continue to call on Congress to act now to provide a permanent legislative solution that provides DACA recipients with protection from deportation and a path to citizenship upholding their inherent human dignity without putting others who are undocumented at increased risk of deportation. 

The Ignatian Solidarity Network remains steadfast in its support for DACA recipients as we work to uphold the inherent dignity of all those who migrate. As Catholics, we believe that all people have a right and duty to participate in society. Through our work in partnership with schools, parishes, and social ministries in the Jesuit and broader Catholic network across the U.S., we have witnessed firsthand the contributions that DACA recipients are making.

“As a DACA recipient, tonight I  will be able to sleep soundly knowing that we will continue to be protected from deportation and able to work and study in the U.S.,” said José Arnulfo Cabrera, director of education and advocacy for migration at the Ignatian Solidarity Network. “But this doesn’t mean that the fight is over. We must remember that DACA was created as a temporary protection for undocumented youth. We must continue to work for a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, undocumented youth, and our undocumented families, and begin to fix our broken immigration system.

“Today’s Supreme Court decision offers DACA recipients a respite but not a solution,” said Christopher Kerr, executive director of the Ignatian Solidarity Network. “Even with today’s decision, DACA recipients in our network continue to face fear and ambiguity on a number of fronts—their ability to complete their education and pursue careers, their safety and the safety of their families, and their ability to remain part of communities that they have called home and contributed to for a significant portion of their lives. As a network, we continue to call on legislators, specifically the U.S. Senate, to pass legislation that creates a pathway to citizenship which eliminates the limitations on their ability to share their gifts, talents, and ambitions in the country they call home, while also protecting their families and communities.”

Tune in to a live press conference on Thursday, June 18, at 2:00 PM ET / 1:00 PM CT / 12:00 PM MT / 11:00 AM PT to hear from Jesuit network-affiliated DACA recipients and Rev. Michael Sheeran, S.J., president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Join here via Facebook Live.