Richmond, VA - New Virginia Majority issued the following statement on Recent Attempts to End DACA: New Virginia Majority is outraged by the recent report that the Trump administration is considering rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

DACA gives eligible immigrant youth brought to the U.S. as children protection from deportation, and a work permit. Over its five-year history, DACA has helped nearly 800,000 young people pursue higher education, earn better wages, and live without fear of being ripped away from their homes. Taking away their only accessible protections against being snatched away from their families is immoral, unjust, and cruel.

Ending DACA would come in the wake of ongoing attacks on Black and Brown communities throughout Virginia and the country. As the Trump administration considers this devastating move, it is important to remember that Trump has personally defended white supremacists and monuments to the confederacy, implied he will pardon convicted ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio, infamous for his racism, targeting and detaining of black and brown immigrants, encouraged law enforcement violence, stepped-up ICE raids, and more. Rescinding DACA is another push in a white supremacist agenda and we must build a broad-based movement to resist it.

Young immigrants who have long called the United States their home don’t deserve to be stripped of their legal status at the hands of racist, xenophobic hate-filled political agendas. We will continue to fight for dreamers like Glancy-- one of over 25,000 young people in Virginia who has boldly stepped out of the shadows and embraced their future under the limited protections of DACA. She is currently working, and commuting 40 minutes a day to a local university so she can become a social worker and “invest in the future of this country by helping children through difficult times.” This is who Trump is threatening, we must continue to build a movement to resist these violent initiatives.

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New Virginia Majority builds power in working-class communities of color across the Commonwealth. We organize for racial and economic justice through large-scale political education, mobilization, and advocacy around dozens of issues. We fight for a Virginia that is just, democratic, and environmentally sustainable.