Dear John, 

Just moments ago, Judge Hanen of the Southern District of Texas Court ruled that I, and hundreds of thousands of other young people like me around the country, are deportable. As a DACA recipient who has lived in this country for twenty years, I have been fighting for years to be recognized as an American. This decision jeopardizes the future of every DACA recipient and Dreamer in the only country we have ever known as home. Join us to fight back by rallying with us on July 23, 2021.

My family came to the United States in 2001 to secure critical medical care for my sister, who suffers from a brain condition called Arteriovenous Malformation. The care she received here has enabled her to live more than twenty years beyond what doctors initially expected. Living in the United States has saved my sister’s life, and those of over 800,000 young people, who grew up in America and built lives here.

My sister's experience inspired me to become a registered nurse, as I wanted to advocate and care for others in the healthcare system. When there was a shortage of nurses at the start of the pandemic, I volunteered to work on the frontlines in a hospital and nursing home as COVID-19 ravaged our communities. I even have gone on to earn a law degree, as my time as an essential worker during the pandemic revealed so many systemic inequalities that I am committed to fighting. I have continued to work in service of a better New York, and have more than earned permanent protections. But we shouldn’t have to prove ourselves to be exemplary to deserve citizenship. And our lives should not be expendable and deportable.

With this ruling, Judge Hanen has failed DACA recipients like me by ruling DACA invalid going forward. This is a critical moment for every American who cares about fairness and justice in our immigration system. We must demand a pathway to citizenship for immigrant essential workers, DACA recipients, DREAM Act eligible youth, and TPS recipients and their families. 

Join us July 23rd as we fight for a more just future for immigrants like me!

In solidarity,
Hina Naveed
Co-Director of DRM Action Coalition