By Samuel Mattison
Alabama Political Reporter
Alabama Democratic Party leaders responded negatively to President Donald Trump’s announcement that his administration would roll back on the Deferral Action for Children Arrivals program, which granted temporary legal status to the children of immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally.
Nancy Worley, the chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, said Trump’s new administration has “turned its back on hard-working families and students” in a press release. She also said the new executive action shows that Trump and fellow Republicans are dividing the country and creating fear within communities.
Worley said in wake of the new decision, the Alabama Democratic Party will continue to stand behind the several thousand DACA beneficiaries in Alabama. She empathized that Alabama Democrats believe diversity is America’s greatest strength.
“We will continue to work to fix our broken immigration system and the most important step in doing that is supporting the DREAMers who are contributing to our economy and were brought to this country by no fault of their own,” Worley said. “We urge Alabama Republicans to act and support legislation in Congress to protect our DREAMers and keep our communities safe.”
U.S. Rep. Terry Sewell, Alabama’s only Democratic congresswoman, echoed similar sentiments.
“Stripping these young people of the opportunity to stay in the country they love and contribute to our economy is inconsistent with our American values,” Sewell said.
Sewell pointed to a Center for American Progress study that found Alabama would lose over $182 million in GDP lose if DACA workers were removed from the state.
Doug Jones, former U.S. attorney and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, said he was disappointed in Trump’s decision. He called on lawmakers in Congress to act quickly and not leave DACA beneficiaries in “limbo.”
In a statement posted on Facebook, Jones specifically called on U.S. Sen. Luther Strange, R-A.L., to “step up and do the right thing.”
“[Strange] should get to work with fellow Republicans and reach across the aisle to craft a bipartisan solution that recognizes the value and contributions that these Dreamers have made to this great and compassionate country,” Jones said.
Strange and former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore are heading to a Republican party runoff later this month after not passing 50 percent in the primary. Jones will face the winner of the runoff in the general election set for December.
DACA was created by an executive order signed by former President Barack Obama in 2012. Since then, 800,000 people in the U.S. have registered for the program.
Trump’s White House argued that Obama overstepped his authority as president when he signed the order in their statement regarding DACA. While they now consider these DACA recipients to not reside in the U.S. legally, they said Department of Homeland Security will not actively try to remove active DACA recipients.
Trump announced on Twitter that if Congress can’t find a solution in the sixth month delay he instituted, he would revisit the issue and decide what to do next.
Since Trump’s announcement, several state and municipal governments around the United States have announced their intention to pursue litigation against the Trump administration.
