New York, N.Y. – Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) National President Shavar Jeffries released the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s upholding of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which will prevent nearly 800,000 DREAMers—many of whom are students—from deportation:
“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a step in the right direction toward ensuring DACA’s protections remain permanent for thousands of students and their families.
As a nation, we are at a pivotal moment in which we must assess the values we wish to stand for and decide whether we truly seek to embrace liberty and justice for all Americans—which includes hundreds of thousands of DREAMers who have never known any other home. The Supreme Court’s ruling today is just one example of the victories that will be necessary to cement the importance and worth of every life in this country. Nearly half of DACA recipients are students, while another 9,000 are K-12 teachers; their talents, perspectives, and ingenuity enrich our classrooms and contribute irreplaceable threads to the unique cloth that is America.
While the Trump Administration seeks to sow fear and distrust, we embrace a different dream for our future, one where our differences and diversity make us stronger. I encourage Congress to join us—and all DREAMers—in this vision and find a lasting, bipartisan approach to ensure that DACA recipients no longer live in fear of deportation, and can instead continue to live their fullest lives.”
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