Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, Reps. Mia Love, Chris Stewart and Rob Bishop, rescinding DACA threatens the lives of 894,000 immigrant children brought to this country.
They put their trust in our government and willingly provided personal information at great personal risk to register with this program, and pay significant fees to obtain renewable work and education permits (95 percent are working or going to school). Their economic impact nationally has been measured in the billions of dollars.
Here in Utah, 10,200 individuals will be affected, with a potential economic impact to Utah of over $400 million. These children and young adults have only known the U.S. as home. They were raised here, studied here, worked here, served in our military here. They work as first responders, health care workers, firefighters, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, landscapers, business owners. They pay taxes.
DACA was created as a temporary measure to buy time for Congress to find a permanent legislative solution. By rescinding DACA, the Trump administration has now set the timer in motion, placing these fellow humans in harm’s way, as a pawn in a grand game. As our state representatives in Congress, it is up to you to work with your colleagues to find that legislative solution, and eliminate this cruel inhumane threat to these young folks.
There is no moral ground to repeat history by rounding up, isolating and ridding our country of a minority within our society. We made a tremendous sacrifice to destroy a regime that tried to do that 70 years ago. We are better than that, and you must show that Utahns will not stand by.
Michael Feldman
Murray