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Eight hundred thousand Americans trusted our government when they registered for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. They believed that by following the rules, their country, into which they arrived as children, would accept them as legal residents.
In September, President Donald Trump terminated the DACA program and threatened deportations within six months. The “Dreamers” who trusted are now targeted. Their personal information is in government files, available to Immigration and Customs Enforcement whenever it decides to come after these people, our people — our neighbors, our colleagues, our friends, employees and service providers.
This threat extracts a fearful cost on “Dreamers” and on all of us who believe this injustice does not represent who Americans are. Moreover, it destroys the possibility of success for future government programs that ask people to trust a commitment. No one will trust our government to do what it promises. Anything can change whenever a self-serving, deceptive huckster rises to power.
I am proud of Democrats who are standing firm for renewing the DACA program, which is supported by 70 percent of the population.