John,

It’s been 12 years since immigrant youth organized and won Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)―the program that has allowed hundreds of thousands of people brought here as undocumented children to be able to access jobs and education.

While almost 500,000 DACA recipients are protected from deportation now, DACA is threatened by challenges being heard in conservative courts. The Biden administration must use its existing authority to prevent mass deportations of valued members of our communities and to prevent the inhumane break-up of families.

With the future of DACA in the hands of the conservative 5th Circuit Court, DACA recipients are facing a real threat of deportation if DACA ends. The 5th Circuit Court has a long track record of anti-immigrant decisions. Without protections in place, millions of people could lose their jobs, be separated from their loved ones, and be at risk of deportation.

The Biden administration must be prepared to unapologetically defend the rights, safety, and lives of DACA recipients and immigrant communities.

Sign now to call on the Biden administration to strengthen DACA and provide protection and relief outside of DACA for DACA recipients, undocumented youth, and our communities.

While both parties are using immigrants as a political football, there are concrete steps the administration can take right now to strengthen the rights of immigrants, including DACA recipients. They can issue a longer and permanent automatic work permit extension period that covers all eligible workers. That will ensure that the federal government can process work permit renewal applications, now backlogged because of inadequate staffing. The Biden administration can also protect people from deportation on humanitarian grounds for a limited time (typically a year)―called granting “parole.” This could protect both current DACA recipients as well as hundreds of thousands of people who arrived here as children after the deadline for applying had expired.

We do applaud the Biden administration for expanding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to include DACA recipients for the first time.¹ This is a critical move because one in five DACA recipients are uninsured, nearly three times as many as the population as a whole, according to a recent report by the National Immigration Law Center.²

The Biden administration risks setting up entire communities, cities, and our country at large for unimaginable hardship if they do not act with the urgency this moment requires to ensure DACA recipients and DACA-eligible youth continue to have access to live, work, and remain with their families.

Add your name to join us in calling on President Biden to act now and use his existing executive authority to strengthen and expand protections for DACA recipients, DACA-eligible and non-eligible youth, and all others who call this country their home.

Thank you for all you do,

Dominique Espinoza
Policy and Strategic Partnerships Manager, CHN Action

¹ DACA Recipients Will Soon Be Eligible for ACA Coverage
² Latest Data Shows DACA Recipients Continue To Face Barriers To Affordable Health Care