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Contact NIJC Communications Director Tara Tidwell Cullen at (312) 833-2967 or by email.

Statement by Mary Meg McCarthy, Executive Director, Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center

The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) welcomes the Department of Justice’s announcement today that it will seek to reverse a Texas federal court’s temporary injunction against President Obama’s immigration executive actions. If the government’s request succeeds, the administration could resume the rollout of deferred action programs to bring temporary relief from deportation to millions of American families and immigrants.

If the government’s request is denied, the launch of the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the new Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and lawful permanent residents (DAPA) programs will be delayed pending the outcome of the federal lawsuit.

Among the millions of people who are desperate for relief under deferred action are Nery and Rebeca, NIJC clients whose stories were included in an amicus brief submitted to the Brownsville, Texas, district court in support of executive action.

Nery is a 33-year-old father of two who has been in the United States since 2007. In 2008, another driver collided with Nery’s car, but because he did not have a driver’s license, Nery was arrested and transferred to immigration custody. Nery’s lack of status made a series of family hardships nearly impossible to navigate and almost resulted in his deportation to El Salvador. DAPA would allow Nery and his family to live with more stability and less fear of separation.

Rebeca* is the mother of six children, four of whom are U.S. citizens and one of whom has temporary DACA protection. After coming to the U.S. from Mexico in 2000, she suffered years of domestic violence. She helped her local law enforcement agency prosecute her abuser, but it has refused to certify her involvement in the case and prevented Rebeca from applying for a special visa intended for victims of crimes. DAPA would allow Rebeca to raise her children with a sense of safety and security.

Thousands of U.S. families like Nery’s and Rebeca’s are struggling to stay above the law, contribute to their American communities, and provide stable lives for their children, but without proper documentation they are subject to deportation on a whim. DAPA and DACA have strong legal grounding and precedent; these programs and the lives of millions of American children and their parents should not be brought to a standstill by political theater like the Texas lawsuit. Allowing the DACA expansion and DAPA to proceed while the court case plays out is the only right thing to do.

*Name has been changed to protect privacy.