June 30, 2016
Bad News From the Supreme Court
  
We were hoping to share some good news about the Deferred Action for Parents of American Citizens (DAPA) program awaiting a decision in the Supreme Court. However, last Thursday the Supreme Court justices' vote ended in a tie, 4-4, meaning that the lower court's decision against DAPA is affirmed. The government is not allowed to move forward to implement the program until a lawsuit over the constitutionality of the program concludes. Because it is highly unlikely that the lawsuit will conclude before the presidential election in November, the fate of immigration reform in this country is on hold until then and will depend on who the next president is.
Four Years of a Great Program  

Four years ago this month, President Obama announced a new action to provide temporary immigration relief for some of the most deserving undocumented immigrants.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA, established an avenue for young people who were brought to the United States as children to request temporary relief from deportation on a case-by-case basis if they could demonstrate that they met several criteria. This was a humanitarian gateway offered by the Obama administration in order to give some temporary legal status for people who arrived to the U.S. illegally as children through no fault of their own.

In these four years, 730,000 young people were able to come forward and start pursuing their dreams, becoming doctors, lawyers and contributing members to our communities. Even though some people were reluctant about this program at first, DACA has proved itself to be a necessary step forward towards the goal of becoming the welcoming nation that America should be. It has been so rewarding to us to see our DACA clients go forward and live their dreams, such as going to college, starting their own business, and getting that job they always wanted. 

One of our clients had earned his Pharmacy degree but could not get a job in a pharmacy because he did not have work authorization. Thanks to DACA he is now working as a pharmacist! We are extremely proud of all of our DACA clients and happy to have helped them pursue their goals. Seeing how well this program is performing and all the benefits that it has and will continue to bring to our communities makes it even harder to understand why the Supreme Court did not vote in favor of DAPA. 


Just like all the young people who benefited from DACA in the last 4 years and the ones that are yet to file, keep fighting for immigration reform to allow many people to achieve their American dream. It is an important topic in this presidential election and we urge you to bring it up to your Senator or Congressman in support of immigration reform.