Polis on Judicial Immigration Stall: "You Can't Play Games with People's Lives"

Statement

Hours after a federal judge halted an executive action on immigration -- part of which was set to take effect Wednesday -- that would have expanded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and created a new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program, Congressman Jared Polis (CO-02) issued the following statement:

"DACA's expansion and the new DAPA program will provide welcome relief for the tens of thousands of hard-working Coloradans who live in constant fear that they'll be deported over something as simple as a broken tail-light. Many of these Coloradans were brought here as kids -- through no fault of their own -- and know no other home. They want nothing more than to be able to get a good education and a good-paying job without living in the shadows.

"Sadly, activist judges are seeking to dismantle this relief just to score political points. It's unacceptable and disappointing. You can't play political games with people's lives.

"The tens of thousands of beneficiaries in Colorado shouldn't be discouraged by Judge Andrew Hanen's misguided and partisan judicial machinations that will almost certainly be reversed. Eligible DACA and DAPA candidates should continue to move forward with compiling their materials in support of their applications.

"This judicial mess is further proof of how broken our immigration system is and how badly we need to fix it. That's up to Congress, not the courts, and I'm hopeful that after years of inexcusable inaction, Republicans in the House of Representatives will finally consider a comprehensive immigration reform package that better secures our borders, streamlines our guest worker system, and keeps families together."

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