Archbishop José H. Gomez Calls for Making Daca Permanent and to Move Forward on Immigration Reform
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In his weekly column, in Angelus, Archbishop José H. Gomez called on President Trump and members of Congress returning to Washington from their August recess to find common ground on immigration reform and make the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) permanent. “Across the board, there has been reluctance to seek common ground,” stated Archbishop Gomez. “All sides seem willing to leave the issue unresolved, even if that means people continue to suffer — all for the sake of not ‘giving the other side a win.’” The Archbishop also stated that ‘our immigration system is broken and it is broken comprehensively, in every area.’ He expressed disappointment with the lack of action to enact comprehensive immigration reform and called on leaders in Washington to take action ‘piece by piece.’ “We need to keep in mind that beneath all the politics, there are real people, real issues and legitimate differences of opinion,” said the Archbishop. “That should not be an excuse for inaction. It should be the reason for coming together and finding a way to move forward. We can begin right now by resolving the situation of the DACA young people. It would be a tragedy to cancel DACA and declare these 800,000 young people ‘illegal’ and begin deporting them.” In the column, the Archbishop is calling for permanent relief for DACA students and young people. “They did not make the decision to enter this country in violation of our laws, and in fairness we cannot hold them accountable. America is the only country they know, and the vast majority are working hard to make their own contribution to the American dream. So, I am urging our elected officials to act — to grant these young people permanent relief from the fear of deportation and the chance to earn permanent residency status and eventually to seek citizenship. We can do this and we must. It is the right thing to do.” For the full text of the Archbishop’s column in English and Spanish, visit http://www.angelusnews.com/articles/moving-forward-on-immigration and http://vida-nueva.com/avanzando-en-tema-la-inmigracion/.
Call the White House TODAY to urge the Administration to maintain DACA. Please send this information to your advocacy lists, urge folks to call the White House toll-free at 1-855-589-5698 to make the request, and encourage others to share this information with their own networks. Supporters can call the White House today and everyday until an announcement is made on the DACA program. This information is also available at http://bit.ly/2vIE5lL Please share this and sign up for alerts at TheNextAmerica.org
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