FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2015

CONTACT
Adela de la Torre, 213-400-7822213-400-7822, [email protected]

Nebraska Legislature Takes a Stand for Sound Public Policy

Override of governor’s veto means those with #DACA may drive in all 50 states

LOS ANGELES — Less than 24 hours after Gov. Pete Ricketts vetoed legislation to allow people with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to apply for driver’s licenses, the Nebraska Legislature today voted to allow this measure to take effect. Below is a statement from Tanya Broder, senior attorney with the National Immigration Law Center:

“The Nebraska legislature today affirmed the right of immigrant youth who grew up in the U.S. to drive lawfully in their communities. This move is good for everyone. Providing access to licenses will allow immigrant youth to participate more fully in Nebraska’s economy and continue contributing to their communities.

“All fifty states now recognize that it makes sense for DACA grantees to be tested, trained, licensed, and insured. We applaud the Nebraska Legislature for joining the rest of the country in enacting this wise policy.”

To learn more about immigrants’ access to driver’s licenses, visitwww.nilc.org/driverlicenses.html.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2015

CONTACT
Adela de la Torre, 213-400-7822, [email protected]

Court Decision Signals Delay, Not Defeat

We will protect #ImmigrationAction in the courts and in the communities

NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today denied the U.S. Dept. of Justice’s request for an emergency stay in Texas, et al. v. United States, et al., the lawsuit against President Obama’s immigration-related executive actions. This will allow a lower court’s decision to block implementation of initiatives that would allow millions of immigrants to apply for work authorization and protection from deportation to remain in place while the Justice Department’s formal appeal of the lower court’s decision is considered. Below is a statement from Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center:

“Immigrant communities have waited long enough. Today’s decision allows the lower court’s legally unsound decision blocking immigration relief to stay in place, and our economy and families will suffer the consequences. We call upon the Justice Department to continue its efforts to get this injunction lifted by bringing the matter before the Supreme Court without delay.

“While millions anxiously wait to see how the legal challenges to President Obama’s initiatives will unfold in the courts, immigrants who fought for and won this policy victory refuse to be passive bystanders. With the confidence that implementation is inevitable, we are moving forward to protect DAPA and expanded DACA, not just in the courts, but also within our communities. Immigrant-rich states and cities, in which more than half the U.S.’s foreign-born population lives, have already said that the president’s immigration actions will help their economies. Immigrant leaders will continue to push for policies that make their communities safer and more inclusive.

“Most importantly, we will continue to prepare for the moment that DAPA and expanded DACA are finally allowed to take effect. Although the timeline has shifted, enthusiasm for the initiatives immigrants fought hard to achieve has not dampened. We remain as ready as ever to restore relief and deliver the promise that these immigration initiatives represent for our country.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2015

CONTACT
Adela de la Torre, 213-400-7822, [email protected]

BREAKING THE ICE
NILC Calls for ICE-free Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today voted to end its 287(g) agreement with the federal government, ending the contract that enhanced collusion between federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and local police, and terminating ICE’s permanent presence in Los Angeles jails. At the same time, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department took steps toward launching the “PEP” deportation program, which critics have decried as a reboot of the fundamentally flawed S-Comm program that tore apart families. Below is a statement from Shiu Ming Cheer, immigration attorney with the National Immigration Law Center:

“All our community members, no matter where they were born or how much money they have, should be able to live free from fear of being torn away from their loved ones. Today’s decisions bring us one step closer and one step further away from this important ideal. Although we applaud the Board of Supervisors for finally rescinding the 287(g) agreement that has led to the deportation of tens of thousands of Angelenos and closing ICE’s office in Los Angeles jails, we are deeply troubled to see that the county may continue collaboration with ICE through the PEP program.

“PEP, in our view, is merely more of the same old, failed detention and deportation system. The fingerprint-check dragnet that led to unnecessary deportation for so many community members and spawned further mistrust of local law enforcement should be abolished, not renamed. We fought hard to get rid of S-Comm, and we will not rest until we are rid of this latest iteration. Los Angeles is safer for everyone when it is ICE-free.”

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