GAPIMNY condemns the Trump Administration’s decision to rescind DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). The Obama-era program gives protection from deportation, as well as a work permit, to young undocumented individuals who came to the US as children. It is a policy that has benefited over 800,000 immigrants, including over 16,000 Asian Americans. Over 36,000 LGBT undocumented immigrants have participated in DACA, and over 24,000 have renewed the program as of March 2016.
The decision to rescind DACA is neither rooted in “compassion” nor the need to maintain law and order, as the attorney general has claimed. Rather, it is an escalation of the current White House administration’s assault on undocumented immigrants, religious minorities, and poor people of color—many of whom are queer and/or trans. We condemn the decision to rescind DACA in the strongest possible terms as white supremacy and as evil.
We also reject rhetoric that defends DREAMers at the expense of their parents or other, less respectable, immigrants. Similarly, we reject well-intentioned claims that “we are all immigrants” because such claims erase native populations, as well as black populations who were kidnapped and shipped to this country against their will. Lastly, we are critical of arguments in defense of DACA that speak to the value of an immigrant in terms that privilege their economic contribution to the very nation that wishes them ill.
We realize that any steadfast statement of solidarity with DACA-mented individuals must be rooted in the beliefs that no one is disposable, that all detention and deportation is unjust, and that any individual life is inherently worthy of care and protection. In that spirit and to all DACA recipients in our community: you are in our hearts. We stand with you, and we will fight for you. #DefendDACA
Follow-up reads: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/04/donald-trump-what-is-daca-dreamers
http://aapidata.com/blog/asian-undoc-1in7/
Site for Donation: https://www.gofundme.com/DACArenewalfee