Washington, DC, Jan. 21, 2019 – Today, Donald Trump spoke at the White House saying he would finally reopen the government if taxpayers give him billions to build his Wall, nearly 3,000 deportation agents, more staff for faster deportations and jam through other harsh changes to immigration law.
In addition to ending his shutdown, Donald Trump said that he would temporarily extend protections for people who have DACA and TPS – programs that he killed in the first place – in exchange for massive and permanent anti-immigrant changes..
Greisa Martinez Rosas, Deputy Executive Director of United We Dream and herself a DACA recipient issued the following statement to Trump’s 4:00 pm speech.
“Trump must reopen the government now and Congress must not let Trump use the suffering he caused for immigrant youth and federal workers to force his mass deportation agenda on the country.
“The White House has repeatedly used negotiations over the pain he has caused to immigrants and federal workers to demand billions more for his Wall, more detention camps and mass deportation. His speech today echoes the mass deportation wish list he and Stephen Miller have sent to Congress over and over again.
“The “deal” he announced today would mean more kids in cages, more deportations and more misery. No way.
“The American people support citizenship for undocumented people and disagree with mass deportation and his wall. Congress should pass clean, permanent protections for undocumented immigrants, defund the deportation force and not play along with Donald Trump’s sick and dangerous game.”
United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation, a powerful network made up of over 400,000 members and 48 affiliate organizations across 26 states. UWD’s vision is to build a multi-racial, multi-ethnic movement of young people who organize and advocate at the local and national levels for the dignity and justice of immigrants and communities of color in the United States. www.unitedwedream.org