WASHINGTON, DC – Today, FWD.us launched a series of TV and radio Univision ads encouraging Dreamers to renew their DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) protections if eligible. The DACA program protects young immigrants who arrived in the United States at the average age of 6 from deportation, and grants them the ability to work and study in the United States.
To view and hear the ads, please click HERE and HERE.
The ads come ahead of the DACA case oral arguments to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on November 12, 2019, and are airing in Univision’s media markets in Chicago, California’s Bay Area, and Houston. Approximately a combined 352,000 DACA recipients live and work in California, Texas, and Illinois, making it crucial for them to receive the message that DACA renewals are still being accepted.
As a result of ongoing litigation at the U.S. Supreme Court on DACA, there is a great deal of confusion on whether the program is still current. Research from the Center for American Progress shows that as of the end of September 2019, only 27 percent of individuals with a January 2020 expiration, and 14 percent of individuals with a February 2020 expiration, had applied for renewal.
The ads will run leading up to and through the oral arguments in efforts to connect DACA recipients with organizations offering guidance and fundraising resources to renew their DACA.
“This ad campaign is crucial to our efforts to educate DACA recipients and their families on the need to renew their DACA protections as soon as possible,” said FWD.us President Todd Schulte. “There is confusion and fear across the immigrant community, but we will continue to fight for a permanent legislative solution for this vital community that will ultimately provide Dreamers with the long-term certainty and peace of mind that they deserve.”
In September of 2017, the Trump Administration tried to end DACA, but several federal courts have since ordered the Administration to keep the program alive. Since then, three of those cases have been consolidated and are in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments on November 12. The question before the court is whether the Trump Administration canceled DACA unlawfully. The Court could rule on the cases anytime between January and June 2020.
“Given the high stakes playing out in the Court, we will keep a laser focus on renewals. We hope this ad campaign communicates that urgency to DACA recipients and their families,” added Schulte.
