Campaign Action
About 800,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients trusted the federal government with their personal information when they applied for protection under the program, “including where they live, work, and go to school.” But with Donald Trump today siding with white supremacists to end DACA, the Daily Beast reports that their personal information may now be used against them by his deportation force to kick them out of the only country they call home:
“Information provided to USCIS in DACA requests will not be proactively provided to ICE and CBP for the purpose of immigration enforcement proceedings, unless the requestor meets the criteria for the issuance of a Notice To Appear or a referral to ICE under the criteria set forth in USCIS’ Notice to Appear guidance,” said the statement.
In other words, USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency which handles DACA) won’t proactively give immigration enforcement officers a list with the names and addresses of all DACA recipients. But if ICE officers ask for it, the agency will provide it.
“They’re saying we will not give your information unless ICE tells USCIS they need it to deport you, which basically means we’ll give your information out whenever ICE says it’s necessary to deport you,” said Leon Fresco, an immigration attorney who represents many DACA recipients. “That’s the point.”
DACA recipients followed the government’s instructions in applying for DACA, and now it may be used against them to deport them. This is “reprehensible and a complete betrayal of trust on the part of the U.S. government,” tweeted Wisconsin Rep. Marc Pocan. It makes the swift passage of a stand-alone, bipartisan 2017 DREAM Act all the more urgent. Call your member of Congress at (202) 224-3121 and demand permanent protection for undocumented youth now.