FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2017

CONTACT
Email: [email protected]
Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Hayley Burgess, 202-384-1279

Trump’s Relentless Attack on ACA Health Law Is Another Attack on Disenfranchised People

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration over the past week announced several federal health policy changes that will undercut access to vital health services for millions of people, especially women, people with serious or long-term health conditions, and low- and middle-income families. The new policies will destabilize insurance markets and drive up premiums, making coverage less affordable for those with the greatest health needs.

The changes are the latest in a relentless, hyperpartisan effort by President Trump and conservative Republicans to undermine the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the 2010 health law that expanded access to affordable health coverage to 20 million previously uninsured Americans, including lawfully present immigrants. They come after several failed attempts by Republicans in Congress to garner enough support to repeal the law.

The Trump administration also suggested it would reject bipartisan efforts to stabilize the insurance markets unless Congress funds more of Trump’s anti-immigrant, white supremacist agenda, threating to hold hostage millions of people’s health care.

Matthew Lopas, health policy attorney at the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“President Trump’s actions over this past week fall in line with a disgraceful pattern of reckless decision-making that willfully disenfranchises already vulnerable communities. These new policies threaten to throw our entire health system into chaos, and they will hurt women, people who are sick, and families with modest means the most. We should all be outraged by Trump’s uninhibited tendency to put political gain above the health and wellbeing of our country. Congress must do its job to stabilize the health system and prevent millions of people from losing their coverage, without caving to Trump’s ludicrous demands.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2017

CONTACT
Email: [email protected]
Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Hayley Burgess, 202-384-1279

Rep. Pramila Jayapal Joins DACA Mom, Experts, and Allies to Discuss the Imminent Risks to Parents with DACA and their U.S. Citizen Children and Call for a Clean Dream Act

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) today joined Martha Ruiz, a mother of three and DACA recipient from Colorado; Roberto Suro, director of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute at the University of Southern California; Mayor Marilyn Strickland of Tacoma, Washington; Arizona State Rep. Isela Blanc (LD26); and Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, to discuss the potential economic and wellness impacts to parents with DACA and their kids unless Congress moves swiftly to pass a clean Dream Act.

More than 25 percent of DACA recipients are parents, according to a recent survey conducted by UC San Diego professor Tom Wong, the National Immigration Law Center, United We Dream, and the Center for American Progress.

An audio recording of today’s call is available at www.nilc.org/daca-parents-call-2017-10-12/.

Martha Ruiz, Colorado mother of three and DACA recipient
“After DACA ended, we had an emergency meeting with the kids. It was to explain what could happen if either my husband or I were taken away. Children shouldn’t have to worry about being separated from their parents. I know no other home. This is my kids’ home. Our family home. We need protection. We need a clean Dream Act, and we need it quickly.”

Marielena Hincapié, Executive Director of the National Immigration Law Center
“Many young people with DACA are parents, the majority to U.S. citizen kids. These children should be entitled to the same rights and opportunities as any other child. Unfortunately, unless Congress acts now, their futures may be put in jeopardy. Each day, these children are pushed further and further into limbo. We need a clean Dream Act now.”

Roberto Suro, Professor and Director of the Tomás River Policy Institute at University of Southern California
“A growing body of research on the children of unauthorized immigrants shows the negative effects of growing up with the anxiety and insecurity associated with their parents’ immigration status. That same research shows that measures like DACA can reverse these negative effects. It’s time we start looking at these young people as the parents of U.S. citizens who are doing essential work for society as a whole.”

U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Co-Chair of Congressional Women’s Working Group on Immigration Reform
“President Trump’s immigration wish list is a white supremacist’s dream. At a time when the future of 800,000 DACA recipients hangs in the balance, it is unacceptable for the president to bring forth restrictionist rhetoric that sets us back decades. Many women are stuck in the visa backlogs, waiting years and even decades to be reunited with their families. No one would suffer more under Trump’s immigration principles than women and families.”

Arizona State Rep. Isela Blanc (LD26)
“In 1986, Ronald Reagan signed an immigration bill improving the lives of 3 million immigrants. It brought us out of the shadows to fully participate in the American Dream. Republicans must put partisan politics aside to address the future of 11 million undocumented immigrants.”

Mayor Marilyn Strickland, City of Tacoma, Washington
“We local leaders must implore Congress to pass a clean DREAM Act. Not doing so puts families in jeopardy, particularly women and children. Dreamers are faith leaders, business owners, and serve as other vital members of our community. We rely on them and they deserve our protection.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 9, 2017

CONTACT
Email: [email protected]
Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Hayley Burgess, 202-384-1279

Statement on Trump’s White Nationalist Immigration Wish List

WASHINGTON — The White House on Sunday put out a list of extreme policies it is proposing in exchange for broadly supported legislation that would provide a permanent fix for immigrant youth. The list is predictably in line with the anti-immigrant vision President Trump and his advisers have espoused since before he took office.

It includes proposals long sought by anti-immigrant extremists, including a radical ramp-up in border and interior enforcement, the elimination of protections for children fleeing extreme circumstances, a refugee cap, a severe cut to the annual number of visas, a departure from sensible policies intended to allow people from underrepresented countries to immigrate to the U.S. and to keep families together, and withholding of federal funds from jurisdictions that limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agents.

The release comes just over a month after Trump cruelly thrust nearly 800,000 young people into uncertainty when he decided to abruptly end the hugely successful Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Kamal Essaheb, policy and advocacy director at the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“There is overwhelming agreement across all sectors of American society, including among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, that a permanent solution for immigrant youth is necessary and the right thing to do. Signing the bipartisan Dream Act should be simple and straightforward.

“Yet, instead of engaging with members of Congress in earnest, President Trump again is bending to extremists in his cabinet and his base. This so-called ‘principles’ list is nothing more than a white nationalist wish list. It has no place in a conversation about finding a solution for immigrant youth.

“We need Congress and the president to do the right thing for young immigrants who simply want to be recognized as the Americans they are. We need a clean Dream Act now.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 5, 2017

CONTACT
Email: [email protected]
Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Hayley Burgess, 202-384-1279

With the Window for DACA Renewals Closing, Congress Must Pass a Clean Dream Act Now

WASHINGTON — Today marks the last day that the federal government has said it will accept renewal applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, except on a case-by-case basis for a limited number of applicants in hurricane-impacted areas.

The government has refused to extend the Oct. 5 deadline for DACA renewals, set arbitrarily just a month ago, despite repeated requests and warnings of the potential for harm from a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, overseeing a case challenging the Trump administration’s decision to end the program.

When the administration announced it was ending DACA, it gave DACA recipients whose work authorization would expire between Sept. 5, 2017, and March 5, 2018, one month to submit renewal applications. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), approximately 154,200 DACA recipients were eligible to renew. On Tuesday, Oct. 3, DHS said it had received just over 106,000 applications.

Kamal Essaheb, policy and advocacy director at the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“Ending DACA was cruel. Imposing this arbitrary deadline that gave eligible DACA recipients just a few weeks to renew only compounded the cruelty. By the federal government’s own records, tens of thousands of immigrant youth will start losing protections over the next few months—some as early as tomorrow. Overnight, these young people who are contributing to communities across the country will start losing access to their jobs, will have a harder time providing for their families, and will be stripped of their sense of security and belonging in the country they call home.

“The time for talking has passed. The urgency to act to finally provide a permanent solution for immigrant youth has never been clearer. Congress must pass a clean Dream Act now.”

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