Judge Andrew Hanen of the Federal District Court in Houston, Texas, recently ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was unlawful and an overstep of Executive authority by then President Barack Obama in 2012.

September 20, 2023

To strike-down DACA as unlawful, without any direction on how the government moves forward with an immigration solution, is inhumane causing vulnerable populations to continue to live in limbo and volatility.

As United Methodists, we affirm the worth, dignity and inherent value and rights of all persons regardless of their nationality or legal status.

Lacking a pathway to U.S. citizenship, DACA while not perfect, provides important civil and human rights for its recipients, such as work permits and protection from deportation. It also offers millions of young people and their family’s stability, safety and protection without the threat of being stripped away from the only country many of them have ever known.

As a country, we are way overdue to establish a more comprehensive and humanitarian approach to immigration policy. But in the meantime, Congress needs to ensure that DACA recipients are protected with a sense of security and lawful coverage.

You can help and take action with the action alert on immigration policy. Write your Senators and Congressperson today and tell them to provide a legal pathway to citizenship for the millions of DACA recipients who have struggled for over a decade living in legal limbo.

Now is the time to protect migrant communities! Now is time to secure DACA!