Here’s How YOU Can #DefendDACA
Over the weekend, Politico reported that the Trump Administration planned to end DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States before they were 16 can apply for this program through which the federal government agrees not to deport the individual. Though this program does not provide legal status or permanent residency, it does allow undocumented Americans to do things like get driver’s licenses, work permits, and bank accounts. If you want to know more about why we need to protect this program, check out our Defend DACA post from last week.
Because this announcement is expected any day now, resistance organizations across the country are mobilizing quickly to protect this program and to advocate for the millions of undocumented immigrants currently living and working here, and especially the 800,000 young people who will be affected by this program. Here are some ways you can join the fight.
Find An Event Near You — there are events all over the country this week to stand up to the Trump Administration’s callous and cruel attitude toward this program and the many lives it affects. You can check out Defend DACA or Indivisible to find events near you. Show up and show your support for your fellow Americans — documents be damned.
Use Social Media — presumably you found this guide somewhere on a social media platform. Feel free to share this as far and as wide as possible. The Women’s March also tweeted out some really fantastic resources for Twitter in particular, including pre-written tweets that you can send to members of Congress and state Attorneys General to advocate for this program. Read this thread for more information or see the direct links to the list of pre-written tweets below. Feel free to use on Facebook or Instagram if those are your preferred social media platforms.
Tweets to urge members of Congress to fight for this program
Call Your Members of Congress — as always, call your representative and your Senators. First ask them to vocally defend this program. They owe it to their constituents and to the undocumented Americans living in their states to show their support. Second, demand that they use their legislative power to make these protections permanent and provide a pathway to legal status. DACA is not a solution, but a stopgap put forth by President Obama in the face of a wildly obstructionist Congress that would not touch immigration reform. There are currently two laws in front of Congress that could do this — the DREAM Act in the Senate and the American Hope Act in the House. 5 Calls has a great script if you need it, but if you can make it your own, that’s always more effective. If you want help putting together a custom script, reach out to us at theneverthelessproject@gmail.com.
4. Learn More — follow organizations like Define American, UndocuMedia, Make the Road NY, Puente Arizona, and the Women’s March. Groups like these provide resources and do powerful grassroots organizing, but they also share stories. Every statistic you read about undocumented immigrants represents individual people, lives and communities and friends and families and children who have made their lives here, who already contribute their money, time, traditions, perspective, work, and love to this country. Learn their stories and listen to what they have to say.
Did I Mention You Should Call Your Members of Congress? — because you should call your members of Congress. 202–224–3121
