WASHINGTON— Statement from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the amicus brief filed today by the AFT and 70 other organizations in United States v. Texas, which is being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court:
President Obama’s expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA+) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) initiatives have the potential to strengthen communities and change the lives of 5 million aspiring Americans by granting temporary reprieve from deportation and a three-year renewable work permit, while expanding educational opportunities and keeping U.S.-born children from being separated from their parents, entering the child welfare system or being forced to leave their U.S. homeland for a country that is not their own. After Congress refused to act on comprehensive immigration reform, President Obama took action, as many of his predecessors have done, using his legal authority to address some of the problems by expanding the number of children and parents who no longer live in the shadows.
“The AFT knows DACA works—we have taught thousands of DACA children and represent hundreds of DACA-mented educators who, through DACA, have been able to pursue their dreams of teaching. Today, we stand with dozens of other organizations representing millions of Americans who implore the Supreme Court to consider the potential harm to our children—from the impact on their educational opportunities to their psychological, physical, social and emotional well-being—if the injunction imposed by the lower courts is upheld. The Supreme Court has an opportunity to put humanity before politics, stand up for the greater good and do right by the children who suffer the consequences of our broken immigration system on a daily basis.”
The amicus brief can be found here: www.fightforfamilies.org