WASHINGTON, DC – FWD.us President Todd Schulte issued the following statement on the Trump Administration’s decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA):

“We are incredibly disappointed by President Trump’s decision to end DACA. In six months, this will force 800,000 Dreamers out of their jobs and put them under threat of immediate deportation, unless Congress acts. What this decision makes abundantly clear is that Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle must immediately come together – right now – and pass a bipartisan Dream Act: 800,000 lives are at stake.

“Dreamers are students, teachers, nurses, and engineers. They are young people who came to this country as children, and most only know America as home. For many years, congressional Republicans have said their objection to DACA was its implementation by executive action rather than via legislation. Now, the ball is in the GOP’s court: without the bipartisan Dream Act or a permanent legislative solution, an average of 1,400 new DACA recipients every single business day, for the next two years, will lose their ability to work legally and be subject to immediate deportation. And Democrats must be willing to negotiate in good faith with GOP leadership to reach a solution. Ultimately, every member of Congress must now decide whether they are going to allow Dreamers the chance to earn a path to citizenship by passing the bipartisan Dream Act, or whether they are going to watch as our neighbors and coworkers are ripped out of their jobs and our communities and deported to countries they may not even remember. No bill will be perfect, but inaction is unacceptable. Congress must act.

“The time of reckoning is here – and we call on the American people to speak out and demand Congress pass a bipartisan Dream Act.”