Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Statement Following the Supreme Court's Grant of Certiorari to A Case Considering the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program

Statement

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Statement Following the Supreme Court's Grant of Certiorari to a case Considering the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program

Jackson Lee: "It is imperative that after the Court hears the case, it invalidate this president's decision to rescind this program, and reinstate the protections and certainty that Dreamers enjoyed under DACA. In the meanwhile, the Congress is acting for the people. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act, which would protect our Dreamers and extend temporary protected status to individuals, with a pathway to citizenship. House Democrats will not stop there. It is time to fix our broken immigration system, address the migrant crisis at our southern border in a humane and lasting manner and pass comprehensive immigration reform. I will not relent until these are all made a reality."

Washington, DC -- Today, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior member of the House Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Budget, issued this statement following the Supreme Court's grant of certiorari to a case considering the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:

"Earlier today, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to a group of cases challenging the validity of the current president's unilateral rescission of President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. They are to be heard in the Court's next term.

"DACA was the federal government program created in 2012 under President Obama to allow people brought to the U.S. illegally as children the temporary right to live, study and work in America. Applicants were vetted for any criminal history or threat to national security and must be students or have completed school or military service. If they pass vetting, action to deport them is deferred for two years, with a chance to renew, during which time they become eligible for basics like a driving license, college enrollment or a work permit. This was a humane policy to confront a stark reality that goes unmentioned: people immigrate here with their children, and often times, those children come to this country at a very early age, and have no way of substantiating or perpetuating their legal status. DACA addressed this. Americans came to know those protected under DACA as "Dreamers."

"Upon losing the popular vote by three million votes, and taking office after securing a majority of the votes cast in the Electoral College, the current occupant of the White House promptly, arbitrarily and capriciously terminated the DACA program, and imperiled the future of our nation's Dreamers. It is imperative that after the Court hears the case, it invalidate this president's decision to rescind this program, and reinstate the protections and certainty that Dreamers enjoyed under DACA.

"In the meanwhile, the Congress is acting for the people. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act, which would protect our Dreamers and extend temporary protected status to individuals, with a pathway to citizenship. House Democrats will not stop there. It is time to fix our broken immigration system, address the migrant crisis at our southern border in a humane and lasting manner and pass comprehensive immigration reform. I will not relent until these are all made a reality."

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