The Supreme Court’s split decision that fails to allow implementation of President Obama’s essential immigration programs is an undeniable setback for immigrant communities and the millions of people who would be eligible for relief under DAPA and DACA+. The ruling is disappointing, but it is not an end to our fight. So what do we do now?
The Court has been paralyzed by partisan fights in the Senate and made their decision short-handed. This means that the decision can be revisited with a new justice on the bench.
That is why we are going to work incredibly hard in the coming months to mobilize our communities in the upcoming election. The next president will fill the bench, and decide DAPA once and for all.
We’re going to register our young people, we’re going to get out the vote and we’re going to make sure that our voices are heard. We’re going to make sure that the next president shares our pro-immigrant values of inclusion and dignity. We’re going to make sure that the next president appoints a pro-immigrant Supreme Court judge, and gives our communities the justice that they deserve.
Our volunteers are already in the field registering people to vote. We’ll be telling immigrant families and their allies that the stakes just got higher in the upcoming election and the costs of staying home are steep.
Big movements for civil rights are never easy, they are never won over the short-term and they always come from the people. This court case comes after years of organizing to stop deportations and keep families together. It comes after battles in Congress for immigration reform and hard fights with the President about executive action. That organizing, our movement, is not going to stop. We are only going to grow in power as we recruit new voters, convince our friends and neighbors to get their citizenship and show up together in November.
We always knew that we would have to fight long and hard to win justice and dignity for our families, and the Court's decision does not change that. This is a temporary set-back, and we will be back at the Supreme Court, and back in Congress, after the election. Until then, we will continue to fight until all members of our community can live with dignity and without fear of separation from their families.
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