On the 11th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the UndocuBlack Network marks the day by renewing its call for permanent protections for immigrant youth, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and all undocumented immigrant communities. As we reflect on the impact of the program over the past eleven years, we emphasize the temporariness of DACA as a solution, subject to legal and political uncertainties trapping our communities in a perpetual state of legal limbo, teetering between court decisions, administrative whims and program deadlines.
The clock is ticking on DACA and the time to deliver green cards and a pathway to citizenship for all immigrant communities is now.
The UndocuBlack Network remains undeterred in the fight to defend DACA while emphatically demanding that the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress deliver a legislative pathway to green cards and citizenship. An update of the immigration registry would offer relief to millions of immigrants, including DACA recipients and TPS holders, rather than creating a patchwork of temporary provisions with impending deadlines. Our communities deserve stability and security that only permanent protections can offer.
“DACA has 11 years of data that demonstrates its value as a temporary status and the consequences of depriving recipients of a sustainable living status. To gut the program any further would be sheer absurdity,” said Ronnie James, UndocuBlack Network’s National Community Engagement Director. “The immigrant community has and will continue advocating for what we deserve. We demand fair pathways to citizenship, embracing all migrants, and recognizing migration as a human right. Congress must act now, and the natural next step is delivering green cards and a pathway to citizenship.”
DACA recipients and more than 11 million undocumented individuals, many of whom are Black, are forced to live in constant uncertainty as the future of DACA hangs in the balance. TPS designations are few and far in between and movement on legislation is stagnant. The Biden administration’s inaction on these matters and the constant and unapologetic detention and deportation of Black immigrants seal its legacy of anti-Blackness. Time and again, we have been sounding the alarm that no solution short of access to permanent protections will address the needs of the DACA recipients and all undocumented immigrants. Our communities deserve more than mere existence within the confines of litigation outcomes.
UndocuBlack “is a multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access to resources, and contributes to transforming the realities of our people, so we are thriving and living our fullest lives.”
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