111 Members of Congress Call on Obama to Protect Immigrants' Private Data

Press Release

Today, 111 Members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama requesting that he take action to protect the names and private information of those who enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The letter, led by Reps. Judy Chu (CA-27), Zoe Lofgren (CA-29), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), Raul Grijalva (AZ-03), and Luis Gutierrez (IL-04), specifically suggests an Executive Order that would prohibit the use of DACA enrollees' information for purposes other than originally intended, including for purposes of deportation. The letter was endorsed by National Immigration Law Center (NILC), the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), and Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC). The authors of the letter released the following statements:

"When the government offered protection to immigrants if they worked hard, laid roots, went to school, and followed the laws, thousands acted on trust. Now that they've handed us names, addresses, birth certificates, and biometric information, we have to honor that trust," said Rep. Judy Chu. "Further, President-elect Trump has said that his priority is to deport those who are a danger to our country. By qualifying for DACA, these immigrants are by definition not a threat to our country, but rather assets. I urge President Obama to take immediate executive action to protect these Dreamers before he leaves office."

"The President, along with many Democratic Members of Congress, urged these young immigrants to come out of the shadows, and to register with the government on the premise that they may live without fear of deportation," said Rep. Lofgren. "Now, with that assurance shattered, those of us who urged for and help implement the DACA program have a moral responsibility to do what we can to protect these young people from deportation under a Trump administration."

"To misuse personal DACA information to tear away young men and women from the only home they know, the United States, would be more than legally misguided: it would be categorically wrong," said Rep. Roybal-Allard. "The DACA application, which recipients signed in good faith, clearly states that no information "can be shared for the sole purpose of removal.' It would be unconscionable to remove young Americans covered under DACA from the U.S. I strongly urge President Obama to use his executive authority to protect them."

"The men and women who courageously stepped out of the shadows to apply for DACA must not be punished," Rep. Grijalva said. "The federal government promised to ensure their safety; we cannot waver on that commitment or allow the next administration to undermine it. The safety of every DACA applicant is at stake. I urge President Obama to ensure this program and the information it has collected are never used to harm the very people it intended to help."

"We are going to do everything we can to protect the DREAMers who came forward to register under DACA, but that is only the beginning," said Rep. Gutierrez. "If the new President is contemplating mass deportation of immigrants, he will have to go through us first."