Ryan J. Smith, Executive Director of The EdTrust – West, issued the following statement on the rescinding of DACA:

“Today’s DACA Decision is Unconscionable” says Ryan J. Smith, Executive Director of EdTrust-West

“Today’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program is unconscionable, inhumane, and moves our country backwards. California is home to over 240,000 DACA recipients. More DACA recipients live in California than any other state in the nation. While the Trump administration may be turning its back on these young people, we will not. They are our students, our teachers, our business owners, our community leaders, our neighbors, our families, and ourselves.

While I am disappointed and angered by this news, EdTrust-West stands ready to fight to protect students enrolled in our schools, colleges, and universities – regardless of their immigration status or the statuses of their family members. I’m encouraged by the work of California state leaders to defend these students, as they did with the passage of the California DREAM Act in 2011. However, it is clear that our efforts to ensure all Californians have the ability to tap into the American Dream must be met with a greater sense of urgency and action.

Despite today’s disheartening decision, EdTrust-West will continue advocating for these students and their families and resisting racist and classist rationales undermining the right to learn, work, and serve one’s community. We call on Congress to immediately take up and pass the DREAM Act. It is up to all of us to make sure the story of America isn’t one that continues to be marked by the forceful removal of people from the only homes they have ever known.”