The Asian American Advocacy Fund Celebrates Supreme Court Ruling in favor of Protecting DACA

The following is a statement from Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, Director of the Asian American Advocacy Fund

Gwinnett County, GA, June 18, 2020- Today, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that refutes an attempt by the Trump administration to abruptly end the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Court ruled that the Trump administration’s attack was “arbitrary and capricious”; we at the Asian American Advocacy Fund know it to be cruel and in line with the attacks Trump has been making on immigrant communities since he announced his campaign. Today marks a win for our communities and a sign that Trump’s punitive immigration measures can no longer be implemented with impunity.

Since the inception of the program in 2012, nearly 800,000 people across the country have applied and been granted protection from deportation under DACA. In Georgia alone, the DACA program protects more than 20,900 recipients who have always called this country home. Ending DACA would not only tear the social fabric of entire communities, it would also be counterproductive as the U.S. seeks a path of economic recovery while still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. DACA recipients in Georgia pay more than $66 million annually in state and local taxes and barring DACA recipients from participating in work or school would deplete the Georgia state budget to the tune of $28 million.

We are not celebrating just because DACA recipients are tax-payers, essential workers, or entrepreneurs who generate revenue for our local economies. We are celebrating because all immigrants are human beings deserving of dignity and support, regardless of their status. These numbers are more than just nameless and faceless figures. Trump threatened to uproot and disrupt entire communities to serve his own petty agenda, but we are pleased to see the Supreme Court stand up for the rule of law. This decision is a harbinger for what is to come if we are able to get Trump out of office and reverse his damaging policies on immigration. It is more important than ever to keep pushing for comprehensive immigration reform and a long-term solution for all undocumented people that does not leave them grappling with anxiety about their place in the country they call home. We stand committed to working to see that future come to pass and to holding all of those seeking election in 2020 accountable to every member of the communities they serve.

The voter suppression evident in the Georgia primary last week only further highlights the importance of using the ballot box to drive change on issues of immigration, racial justice, and economic equity. At the Asian American Advocacy Fund we are already working on expanding access to in-state tuition to all undocumented people and ensuring the attainment of driver’s licenses. There will always be more work to be done until we are able to vote out ineffective leaders who are willing to vote for Trump’s inhumane policies. In order to build the world we all deserve we have to elect fair, competent, and compassionate leaders in Georgia and across the country.