New York, NY, August 25, 2017 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is deeply dismayed at reports that President Trump is considering ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which would mean the loss of legal protections for more than 700,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.
Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO and National Director, issued the following statement:
We are deeply dismayed at reports that President Trump is considering ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This action targeting young immigrants would be wrong and immoral. It would grievously harm innocent people who were brought to this country as children, who have grown up here, lived and worked in our communities, and made countless contributions to America. Some are veterans. Some are doctors and lawyers. Some are teachers. They are among the best and brightest of our nation, and they had the courage to come out of the shadows to tell their stories and, relying on government promises, registered for DACA.
If the president repeals DACA, children will go to sleep worried that their parents might be deported and their families could be torn apart at any moment. More people in our country will return to the shadows, and more will live in fear of our government. Hundreds of thousands of lives—and by extension the lives of their families, friends, and communities—could hang in the balance.
We will stand with our immigrant brothers and sisters. We see them, we feel their pain, and we are fully committed to continue to fight for their rights in Congress, in states legislatures and in the courts.
The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. Today it is the world’s leading organization combating anti-Semitism, exposing hate groups, training law enforcement on hate crimes, developing anti-bias curricula for students, countering cyber-hate and relentlessly pursuing equal rights for all.
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