AFT President Randi Weingarten on US Supreme Court Decision on DACA

WASHINGTON—Statement of American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and Karen Reyes, an AFT member, teacher, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient and declarant in Trump v. NAACP, on the U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that the Trump administration’s termination of the DACA program was unlawful and that the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to rescind DACA was arbitrary and capricious, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act:

AFT President Randi Weingarten said:

“Today, the Supreme Court told hundreds of thousands of DACA beneficiaries that they can breathe. The court rejected President Trump’s cruel, callous and political measure to throw DACA recipients out of America, the only home they know. It’s a temporary reprieve, but it means thousands of educators, nurses, bus drivers and grocery clerks who are on the frontlines in the coronavirus battle can stay in the United States. It reaffirms what we know: DACA recipients belong here.

“As an original plaintiff with the NAACP challenging the Trump administration’s cruel attempt to end DACA, we see firsthand what DACA recipients bring to our communities: They are the people we care for, and the people who care for us. Our country made a promise to protect them, and the AFT will continue to stand up for Dreamers, DACA recipients, those with temporary protected status and their families, and to do everything in our power to protect the rights of immigrants in this country. 

“Let this ruling remind us that Congress and the president must act on comprehensive immigration reform. As the COVID-19 crisis has shown, our immigrant communities have been essential to Americans weathering this pandemic. It’s a reminder that every person, regardless of immigration status, should be able to live without fear—particularly those who came here as children and who know no other home but the United States.”

Karen Reyes, AFT member, teacher, DACA recipient and declarant in Trump v. NAACP, said:

“Today, the Supreme Court protected DACA, making it yet another court that sees that the Trump administration has been trying to use DACA as leverage for its anti-immigrant, xenophobic agenda. While this is a huge win, we cannot forget that this is a temporary victory. We need to continue to push for a legislative solution with a pathway toward citizenship, and we need to vote in November to protect immigrants and their families. The times of using immigrant youth as bargaining chips for hateful policies and a border wall are over.”