Senator Murray: “I am relieved by today’s Supreme Court decision…[and] am so inspired by the Dreamers, activists and countless others who have shared their stories with me and bravely fought to make this day possible”
Senator Murray: “While this ruling is an amazing step in the right direction and just cause for celebration, I know our work is not done”
(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) issued the following statement in response to today’s U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding legal protections for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
“I am relieved by today’s Supreme Court decision affirming legal protections for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, and am so inspired by the Dreamers, activists and countless others who have shared their stories with me and bravely fought to make this day possible.
“Today’s ruling is not only great news for Dreamers across the nation, including thousands in Washington state, whose lives have been in limbo for the last two years, but is also a rebuke of President Trump and this administration’s cruel, hateful anti-immigrant agenda. Dreamers are our loved ones, friends, co-workers, and neighbors; they teach in our schools, run small businesses in our neighborhoods, work in our hospitals, defend our freedoms overseas, and contribute to our communities in countless ways. During the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, many have also been on the frontlines helping to keep us safe and healthy, feed our families and beyond. These people, who are American in every way that truly matters, are as much a part of our nation as any of us—and today’s decision will allow individuals and families all over our country to breathe more easily knowing they have a place in the nation they’ve long called home.
“While this ruling is an amazing step in the right direction and just cause for celebration, I know our work is not done. To the Dreamers in Washington state and across our country, thank you for your courage, and know that I and so many others will continue fighting alongside you against this Administration’s bigoted attempts to dismantle our immigration system and keep immigrants in the shadows. More importantly, know that as a voice in the Senate for undocumented individuals throughout our state and nation, I am committed to the work to fix our nation’s broken immigration system to help ensure we’re the nation of opportunity and promise the United States has always aspired to be.”
Senator Murray is a longtime proponent of the DACA program and has fought against President Trump’s cruel attempts to end the program and legal protections for the hundreds of thousands of Dreamers enrolled in it, including the more than 16,000 DACA recipients in Washington state. Senator Murray has long supported comprehensive immigration reform and has also been committed to supporting DACA recipients and giving Dreamers a pathway to citizenship. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Murray has renewed that commitment, calling on President Trump to automatically extend work authorizations for DACA recipients and blasting the Trump Administration’s harmful and unauthorized regulation restricting DACA recipients and undocumented students from receiving much-needed emergency financial aid provided under the CARES Act.
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