Austin, TX – Today, President Trump formally ended the DACA program that gave hope and a future to hundreds of thousands of young people by allowing them to work legally, be protected from deportation, and contribute the country they call home. Trump was spurred to take this action by a false deadline created by Texas AG Ken Paxton.
Juan Belman, a Texas DACA-recipient and undocumented organizer with the University Leadership Initiative said, “We fought for and won DACA to stop the deportations of many young undocumented immigrants, including thousands here in Texas. DACA is a program that has protected our community, and also allowed those who are beneficiaries like myself a chance to thrive. With today’s decision, we demand immediate legislation that gives immigrant youth a permanent solution and that does not criminalize our parents.”
Mario Carrillo, State Director of America’s Voice Texas, said, “In his most cowardly decision as president yet, Trump has reneged on his assurances to Dreamers that they had nothing fear, but has instead cowered to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“The Texas attorney general was the force behind ending the successful program, which has benefitted more than 120,000 young Texans. As our state continues to rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, Paxton made the continued attack on immigrants his top priority. That will never be forgotten. He is going to see that our community will not back down. We recommit our fight to protect immigrant youth and their families, who make Texas and our country great.”
