Contact: Sam Singleton-Freeman, 414-469-9206, sfreeman@vdlf.org

Racine, Wisconsin – According to Tuesday news reports, US Speaker of the House Paul Ryan confirmed to a meeting of Republican Congresspeople that he would seek to include protections for immigrant youth in a December deal to continue funding the federal government. Some 800,000 immigrant young people, including almost 8,000 in Wisconsin, are now at risk of deportation following Donald Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Voces de la Frontera issued the following response:

“Our pressure is working, but it must be sustained and escalated to win a clean Dream Act bill,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera. “It is outrageous that Speaker Ryan is planning to include measures to further militarize the border as part of this deal. There has been net-zero migration to the US for many years now and the Customs & Border Patrol is already receiving unprecedented funds despite their record of human rights abuses that must be addressed. What is needed is not more militarization on the border but for Congress to create legal paths to migrate that prioritize family unity and honor the dignity and contributions of immigrants.

“Over 3/4 of the public of all political persuasions, including Trump supporters, favor a path to citizenship for immigrant youth. There is no need to include unpopular, bigoted measures that only separate immigrant families. Immigrant young people will not forfeit protections for their parents, or for fellow immigrant community members and asylum-seekers, when vast majorities of the public support a clean Dream Act.”

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