United We Dream Reacts to DACA Renewal Announcement, Calls for Obama Administration to Expand DACA

Today’s (June 5) announcement about the renewal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is an important reminder that at its best, our nation’s immigration policy can be about changing lives instead of separating families. DACA is a proven success story, having enriched the opportunities and futures for over 600,000 DACA recipients over the past two years while protecting them from deportation.

In light of the success of DACA, the refusal of House Republicans to deliver a legislative fix, and the moral crisis of continued record-high deportations, United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation, calls on the Obama Administration to build on DACA to deliver immediate relief for our parents and others living in fear of deportation.

While United We Dream aggressively fights to expand DACA, the Network is also leading the only nationwide effort to implement the program and assist Dreamers with the application and renewal process. Together with national legal experts, United We Dream has created the DACA Renewal Network where Dreamers and the community can receive a personalized DACA renewal plan and directions. We encourage the community to register at www.dacaRenewal.org or www.dacaRenovacion.org.

United We Dream has also successfully led the fight to improve DACA. Today’s announcement by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service includes expanded grounds for “advanced parole,” allowing more Dreamers with DACA to travel abroad; auto-generated expiration warning letters 100 days before an individual’s deferred action expires; a statement clarifying that students with DACA are not prohibited from establishing domicile in their state; a streamlined process for speedy renewals; and interim extensions to ensure that Dreamers to not lose their status.

Cristina Jimenez, Co-Founder and Managing Director at United We Dream, issued the following statement about today’s DACA renewal announcement:

“DACA works and changes lives. There are over 600,000 reminders of the fact that DACA has enriched the opportunities and futures of young Americans.

“Yet in addition to 600,000 success stories, we also cannot escape the number 2 million. While DACA has delivered new hopes for our lives and futures, our parents and families remain under siege as the same Obama Administration that delivered us DACA presides over record high deportations and while Republicans in Congress refuse to act on legislation.

“The Obama Administration should build on this program’s successes and expand DACA to include our parents and others who remain targets for deportation. As we celebrate the futures that Dreamers now enjoy through DACA, we will keep fighting until our entire families can share in the opportunities that come through a just and humane immigration policy.

“United We Dream and undocumented youth won the Deferred Action Program; we’ve succeeded at improving the DACA program and are helping hundreds of thousands of Dreamers apply for the program.

It is not a matter of whether or not the Administration delivers the relief we are demanding, it is just a matter of when. Our families can’t wait any longer, we need action now.”

Learn more about the DACA renewal process at www.dacaRenewal.org or www.dacaRenovacion.org today.