Issued August 25, 2017
WASHINGTON—In response to the Axios story that President Trump is considering eliminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, SEIU International Executive Vice President and iAmerica Action president Rocio Sáenz issued the following statement:
“With one stroke of the pen, ending DACA would crush the hopes and dreams of nearly 800,000 young people who today are able to live here lawfully, go to school, work, and plan for their future. Suddenly, they would become deportable to lands they may barely remember.
“This is a cruel and counterproductive move driven by a hateful, anti-immigrant, and white supremacist agenda.
“This is a personal issue for SEIU members. Many of our friends and family members are today able to live, work and contribute to our country because of DACA. Together, we stand united in the face of white supremacy and hateful attacks against our communities and vow to stand up against Trump's racist mass deportation efforts and fight for social, economic and racial justice.
“I urge the President not to take this heartless action and call on every member of Congress to pledge to take immediate action to protect immigrant families and our communities from Trump's mass deportation plan. We all must resist this racist attack on our communities and work towards common-sense policies that put America’s DREAMers and immigrant families on a path to full legal status, not mass deportation."