Washington is home to 17,000 “Dreamers” — young people brought to America during their youth who have lived the bulk of their lives in the United States, despite arriving undocumented.
In 2012, President Obama introduced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The program ensured that these young people who are studying, working, and living their lives as productive members of society are protected from deportation.
Today, nearly 750,000 young people have obtained DACA status. But a group of 10 Republican state attorneys general are challenging DACA. They’ve told President Trump that if he doesn’t repeal the program by Sept. 5, they’ll take this to court.
In his op-ed published today at CNN.com, Gov. Inslee says now is the time for Congress and the Trump administration to stand up for these inspiring Dreamers:
The American dream has always been about chasing opportunity and pursuing a brighter future for ourselves and our children.
Unfortunately, if certain national leaders have their way and repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the American dreams of hundreds of thousands of young people will be cruelly ripped away. These are dreams that are as lofty and aspirational as the dreams of those who helped build our country more than 240 years ago.
We must ask ourselves: Are we a confident, forward-looking nation that builds monuments — like DACA — to hope and determination? Or are we a nation that is turned inward, lauding monuments to intolerance and division?
Read the rest of his op-ed on CNN.com.