DACA is an LGBT Issue

JAY KAPLAN
This morning, Attorney General Jeff Sessions (apparently President Trump didn't want to be too prominently identified) announced that the Trump Administration would be rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). In June 2012 President Obama announced the creation of DACA which permitted undocumented immigrants who entered into this country before the age of 16 and who met other requirements, temporary work authorization and protection from deportation for a renewable two-year period.
DACA has provided approximately 800,000 immigrants, who were brought to this country as children and have spent most of their lives here, the opportunity to stay in the United States, to pursue higher education, and to give back to our country in innumerable ways.
Dreamers include doctors, farmworkers, soldiers and students. They are our neighbors, family and friends. And while Joe Arpaio, a racist, convicted of disobeying court orders to enforce policies that targeted people of color and promoted racial profiling and discrimination, receives a presidential pardon, hard working, young immigrants who contributed immensely to our shared nation (In Michigan we can expect a $418 million GDP loss by removing DACA workers) are thrown into legal limbo.
With today's announcement, President Trump has thrown the lives and futures of these 800,000 dreamers and their families in disarray, while at the same time injecting chaos and uncertainty into thousands of workplaces and communities across the country.
But wait, this isn't a marriage equality issue, this isn't about amending our civil rights laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity, why should you be concerned? Because DACA is an LGBT issue.
We are a diverse community, and our community includes immigrants, both with documentation and without. Our community includes Dreamers. In fact the Williams Institute estimates that there are over 75,000 LGBT Dreamers, with at least 36,000 who have participated in DACA. Our rainbow flag contains the fabrics of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, male, female, gender non-binary individuals, and yes, members of communities of color.
And today's cruel attack on our country's best traditions and values, is an attack on members of our community as well. I know members of the LGBT community who are Dreamers and I know how the Obama Administration's Order has helped them and their families obtain both safety and security in their lives, how they have been able to obtain higher education, and how they have been able to continue to contribute immeasurably to our society.
Today's policy is a complete reversal of the United States' own consistent legal positions. What President Obama did was both legal and constitutional, despite the Trump Administration's assertions to the contrary. And the Trump Administration's both arbitrary and callous decision to end DACA raises serious legal concerns, including both the Due Process Clause of the Constitution and the Administrative Procedures Act. The ACLU and our coalition partners are exploring all measures to defend the rights of Dreamers to live and work in the country that's their home.
And now is the time for each and every one of us in the LGBT community to raise our voices and to stand up to this Administration's decision to play politics with the lives of members of our diverse community. We need to contact our members of Congress to make sure that they pass a clean, standalone and bipartisan Dream Act that ensures that Dreamers are no longer vulnerable to deportation. Congress must act and provide permanent relief for Dreamers through legislation. Our elected officials must stand for the the most important values and significant principles of our country – equality and opportunity. And so must we.