Texas Circuit Court Judge rules against Executive Action on Immigration and puts on hold immigration programs DAPA & DACA Expanded
MIAMI – Last night (Feb. 16th), a G.W. Bush-appointed district court judge in Brownsville, Texas, issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks the implementation process of President Obama’s Executive Action on immigration which would protect from deportation close to 5 million undocumented immigrants. The ruling pushes back the start date of the Deferred Action programs DAPA and DACA Expanded, leaving thousands of Floridians on hold until they can finally come forward, register, and apply for work permits.
The expansion of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) was planned to begin as soon as February 18, 2015; and DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents) was expected to begin in May, 2015. With this ruling, families in Florida will have to wait until the case is taken up by the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
“This lawsuit is another a political stunt by out of touch anti-immigrant politicians, and just a bump in the road that is meant to scare away our communities from applying for DACA/DAPA. We have faith that the Constitution will win over petty anti-immigrant politics,” said Maria Rodriguez, Executive Director for the Florida Immigrant Coalition. “While we take any attack on immigrant families seriously, they have never stopped us from from fighting for our families and we will continue doing so, this time educating our community and getting everyone ready to apply for DACA & DAPA when the time comes.”
According to the Migration Policy Institute, Obama’s Executive Action could potentially benefit 253,000 undocumented immigrants in Florida who will have a chance to live, work, and stay with their families without fear. 90K of the potential beneficiaries are undocumented youth who grew up in our state and 163K are parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents who have lived here for more than 5 years.
Community organizations encourage immigrant families to continue getting ready to apply, and call on Attorney General Pam Bondi to withdraw from the lawsuit
“We don’t understand why our Attorney General Pam Bondi and her anti-immigrant friends think that stopping the deportation of 253,000 Floridians is a bad thing, or that supporting a lawsuit that attacks Latino families is a smart strategy as we approach Presidential elections,” concluded Rodriguez.
COMMUNITY EVENTS TODAY
Tampa
When: Tuesday, February 17th
Time: 10am
Location: Joe Chillura Courthouse Square Park
In front of County Center: 501 E. Kennedy, Tampa FL
Media contact: Perla Hinojosa 813.380.9950
Orlando
When: Tuesday, February 17th
Time: 3PM
Location: Hope CommUnity Center 1016 N Park Av, Apopka, FL
Media contact: Soraya Marquez 407.285.6697
Miami
When: Tuesday, February 17th
Time: 4pm
Location: In front of Pupusa Factory, 1947 W Flagler St, Miami, FL 33135
Media contact: Natalia Jaramillo, [email protected], (786) 317-3524
