For Immediate Release 
April 17, 2015
Contact: Salvador G. Sarmiento,  sgsarmiento@ndlon.org

NDLON Reaction: Will the 5th Circuit be on the Wrong Side of History?

Los Angeles, CA—In reaction to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans hearing oral arguments on granting an emergency stay to lift the injunction on DAPA and DACA 2.0, representatives of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) made the following statements.

Pablo Alvarado, National Day Laborer Organizing Network’s Executive Director:

“While the President’s evolved deportation policy is before the court today, it is actually the United States’ unequal and unjust immigration policy that is on trial. Immigrants have come under historic assault in recent years, but we’re not going anywhere, and we are fighting back using tools developed by those who have advanced this country’s highest ideals of equality.

“As the 5th Circuit hears oral arguments regarding narrow issues related to the Administrative Procedure Act, what is at stake is essentially whether the court will be on the right or wrong side of history. Will it perpetuate a legacy of white supremacy, or will it be on the right side of history by furthering equality and racial justice? And its interim decision will have concrete implications for President Obama. DAPA and DACA 2.0 are, at best, just one step in the fight for liberation of our communities. Everyone deserves equality, not just the chosen few.”

Olga Tomchin, National Day Laborer Organizing Network’s Deportation Defense Coordinator & Staff Attorney:

“Whatever the 5th Circuit decides, we expect the Obama Administration to do more to stop deportations, to de-link the criminal and immigration law enforcement systems, and end the abuse that our communities experience in immigration detention. If and more likely when the injunction is lifted on President Obama’s executive action, we hope that it will unlock the potential for additional forms of relief for undocumented immigrants and immigrants with convictions. If the 5th Circuit upholds the wrongheaded district court injunction, we expect the President to act immediately to institute substitute relief that is within well-established authority.”

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