For Immediate Release
May 26, 2015
Contact: Salvador Sarmiento, sgsarmiento@ndlon.org
RELIEF WILL NOT BE HANDED DOWN FROM ABOVE
Los Angeles, CA—In response to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals denying the request for an emergency stay to lift the injunction blocking implementation of the President’s affirmative relief programs, DAPA and DACA 2.0, representatives of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) made the following statements:
Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director of NDLON made the following statement:
“While not unexpected, the decision today is a wakeup call for immigrants who thought that relief would be handed down from above. It will not. Both the laws on the books and the application of those laws by the Obama Administration are unjust, and the handpicked judges selected to initially review the case appeared to have their minds made up.
“As this case makes its way to the Supreme Court, we will continue to make our case in the court of public opinion. Millions of immigrants living and working in the US are being systematically deprived of rights afforded to previous generations, and the only way forward is on the same path that got us here. In the proudest tradition of the country, we must continue to organize and demand nothing less than full equality.”
Jessica Bansal, NDLON Litigation Director reacted this way:
“We must recognize that today’s court decision, disappointing as it is, still leaves the President with broad authority over deportation policy. In particular, the decision leaves untouched the President’s power to suspend deportations and end the unjust separation of families. We call on President Obama to immediately act on that power by halting all deportations until the day when our broken immigration system can be replaced by humane, rational policies that recognize the value and humanity of our immigrant community members.”
NDLON representatives available for comment:
Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director
Chris Newman, Legal Director
Jessica Bansal Karp, Litigation Director
###