Rosen Statement Following Trump Administration's Latest Step Toward Ending DACA

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) released the following statement in response to news that the Trump Administration will not accept new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program applications, defying a federal judge's order issued earlier this month.

"The Administration's attempt to dismantle the DACA program, when more than 200,000 Dreamers are essential workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic, is heartless and incomprehensible," said Senator Rosen. "An overwhelming majority of Americans support legal protections for DACA recipients. The Trump Administration continues to prioritize its extreme anti-immigration agenda instead of focusing on saving lives during the current public health crisis that has already claimed more than 150,000 lives in the United States. I will continue working in Congress towards a permanent solution and path to citizenship for our nation's Dreamers."

BACKGROUND: Nevada is home to more than 13,000 Dreamers.

On June 19th, following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California to reverse the Trump Administration's order to rescind DACA, Senator Rosen, along with her Senate colleagues, sent a letter to President Trump urging him to change course and use his executive authority to protect immigrants who are eligible for the DACA program.

On June 22nd, Senator Rosen, along with her Senate colleagues, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) calling on him to immediately take up the bipartisan House-passed American Dream and Promise Act, which will establish a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).

In both letters, Rosen and her Senate colleagues noted that in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 200,000 DACA recipients are working in occupational areas that the Trump Administration's U.S. Department of Homeland Security identifies as part of the "essential critical infrastructure workforce." This includes an estimated 41,700 DACA recipients working in the health care industry, including physicians and physicians in training, intensive care nurses, paramedics, respiratory therapists, nursing assistants, and health technicians.

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