FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
February 17, 2015 Camila Gallardo
(305) 215-4259
cgallardo@nclr.org
Temporary delay will be used to continue preparing the Hispanic community for the imminent start of immigration relief programs
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Yesterday, a federal district judge in Texas granted a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the implementation of immigration relief programs created through executive action. The injunction is the result of a politically motivated lawsuit against the policies advanced through the use of prosecutorial discretion—the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program—will provide millions of American families with much-needed relief from the deportation of a loved one. Despite yesterday’s decision, NCLR (National Council of La Raza) is confident that this ruling will not stand and encourages all eligible candidates for DACA expansion and for DAPA to continue preparing to submit their applications. In addition, the original DACA program, for immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and teenagers, and are under 30 years old, remains in place and those eligible should continue to apply or renew their applications.
“We disagree with the court’s decision and believe a higher court will reaffirm the legitimacy of administrative relief, siding with countless legal scholars that the president was well within his authority to act,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR.
“DACA and DAPA are among the only commonsense solutions on immigration that have emerged in the last two decades. Detractors of these programs may try to paint this as a fight with the president, but make no mistake: attempts to dismantle these programs are attacks on American families. They are attacks on U.S. citizen spouses and children who are seeing their families torn apart because some of our lawmakers refuse to do what is necessary to fix our immigration system,” said Murguía. “Those behind this lawsuit would do a much greater service to their states if they devoted this level of energy to getting their congressional delegations to act on immigration reform, rather than putting targets on the backs of families to settle a score with the president.”
“Yesterday’s decision is only a delay. We are very confident that both DACA and DAPA will move forward. In the meantime, it is of the utmost importance that those who are eligible continue gathering all necessary materials and prepare to submit their applications as soon as the program starts.”
For information about how to apply for administrative relief, please visit www.nclr.org. For the most up-to-date information about changing immigration laws, policies and news, download Immigo, a free app designed for anyone helping and working with immigrants. The app, which works with iPhone and Android devices, can be downloaded from the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores.
NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.
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