WASHINGTON, D.C. — Family Equality applauds the U.S. Supreme Court decision issued today that rules the Trump Administration rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was illegal, and must be vacated.
“The Trump Administration’s 2017 termination of the DACA program caused untold disruption and uncertainty for an estimated 800,000 individuals living in the US who are protected from deportation, including over 75,000 LGBTQ+ people,” said Denise Brogan-Kator, chief policy officer at Family Equality. “Today the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump Administration terminated DACA in a way that was ‘arbitrary and capricious’ and that violated federal law. We now call on Congress to pass legislation that provides a pathway to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented people living and working in the U.S.”
The Williams Institute estimates that of the 81,000 LGBTQ DREAMers in the United States, over 39,000 have participated in the DACA program. DACA allowed undocumented immigrants who entered the United States before the age of 16 and met other requirements, to apply for temporary work authorization and protection from deportation for a renewable two-year period.
About Family Equality
Family Equality advances legal and lived equality for LGBTQ+ families, and for those who wish to form them, through building community, changing hearts and minds, and driving policy change. Family Equality believes every LGBTQ+ person should have the right and opportunity to form and sustain a loving family, regardless of who they are or where they live. Learn more at familyequality.org.
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Media Contact
Ed Harris / Chief Communications Officer
646.880.3005 x117
communications@familyequality.org