{"id":147,"date":"2022-06-21T11:23:05","date_gmt":"2022-06-21T11:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/breakthecycle.org\/952017-ending-daca-program-would-be-especially-devastating-survivors-domestic-violence-and-sexual\/"},"modified":"2024-04-13T21:56:06","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T21:56:06","slug":"952017-ending-daca-program-would-be-especially-devastating-survivors-domestic-violence-and-sexual","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/952017-ending-daca-program-would-be-especially-devastating-survivors-domestic-violence-and-sexual\/","title":{"rendered":"9.5.2017 – Ending the DACA program would be especially devastating for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault"},"content":{"rendered":"
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9.5.2017 – Ending the DACA program would be especially devastating for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Submitted by kjacobs<\/span><\/span> on

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\u00a0September 5, 2017<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Dear Members of Congress:<\/p>\n

The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence (NTF)* urges Congress to respect and protect the recipients of the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program.\u00a0 We ask that you support bipartisan legislation to provide legal status as well as a permanent pathway to citizenship for the hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who came here as children with their families, and call the United States home.<\/p>\n

We are alarmed by the significant detrimental impact of the Trump Administration\u2019s announcement today that it plans to rescind the DACA program. Without congressional action to enact legislation in a timely manner,\u00a0DACA recipients will be forced to live their lives in constant fear that they will be deported at any moment and separated from their families and communities.<\/p>\n

The NTF calls on our national policymakers to work together to forge a bi-partisan, humane national immigration policy that furthers the commitment we all made when the Violence Against Women Act was passed and then reauthorized.\u00a0 No legislator willingly works against supporting victims of violence or preventing and ending domestic and sexual assault.\u00a0 That is why we encourage you to work together to craft immigration relief that prevents future abuse and exploitation, promotes public trust,\u00a0and makes communities safer.<\/p>\n

Since its inception in 2012, DACA has provided nearly 800,000 young people in the United States the opportunity to pursue an education, obtain work authorization, start small businesses, serve in the military, and make significant contributions to their communities. In order to be granted DACA, these young people passed extensive background checks and were required to be enrolled in school, graduate from high school, or serve in the armed forces for our country. DACA recipients are fully integrated and essential members of our communities \u2013 we only need to look to those on the front lines responding to Hurricane Harvey to see their valuable contributions to our country.<\/p>\n

Advocates for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence have reported that DACA and other forms of immigration relief are critical to protecting our communities and helping survivors feel secure and stable so that they can rebuild their lives and be economically self-sufficient.[1]<\/a><\/a>\u00a0A recent survey of more than 700 advocates and attorneys revealed that immigrant survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault are often afraid to come forward and access help.[2]<\/a><\/a>\u00a0 Safeguarding DACA and other immigration relief will protect individuals from deportation and allow survivors and witnesses of crimes like domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking to feel safe to report crimes to police without fear that seeking justice will put them at risk of being deported.<\/p>\n

Further, an estimated 685,000 DACA recipients are legally employed in and contributing to the United States economy.[3]<\/a><\/a>\u00a0If DACA is allowed to lapse and Congress fails to authorize immigration reform that provides these undocumented immigrants a path to legal immigration status, hundreds of thousands of individuals will be at greater risk of exploitation and abuse at work, local economies will suffer, and our nation will lose over 433 billion in GDP over the next decade.\u00a0[1]<\/a>\u00a0 Low wages and wage theft, as well as unsafe working conditions\u2014including sexual harassment and violence and human trafficking\u2014are rife in many low-wage industries that employ high numbers of undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n

Access to work authorization, driver\u2019s licenses, and education\u2014opportunities available through DACA\u2014also increase a survivor\u2019s economic independence. In one survey, three quarters of women in abusive relationships reported staying with their partner for economic reasons.[4]<\/a><\/a>\u00a0A driver\u2019s license provides a means of access to jobs, vocational programs, and other educational opportunities, and decreases the ability of abusers to control and exploit immigrant survivors.\u00a0 Work authorization increases immigrant survivors\u2019 economic security, helps survivors support their families, and helps grow and support the economy of our nation.<\/p>\n

It is long past time for Congress to protect and defend DACA recipients who were brought to this country as children and are now living, working, and raising families in the United States. The Dream Act of 2017 would grant legal status to young people who arrived in the United States before they turned 18, allowing individuals the opportunity to live and work in the United States permanently. We urge Congress to support the\u00a0bipartisan<\/u>\u00a0Dream Act of 2017 (H.R. 3440 and S. 1615), to defend the 800,000 DACA recipients who have contributed to and made the United States their home, and to enact policies that strengthen families and communities. We also urge you to continue to work in a bipartisan manner towards the larger legislative reform of our nation\u2019s immigration laws that is desperately needed to provide a just, common sense, and humane solution to the current crisis.<\/p>\n

Thank you for your careful and timely consideration of this issue.\u00a0 For questions or more information, contact Rosie Hidalgo at\u00a0rhidalgo@casadeesperanza.org<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0*The NTF is comprised of national, state, tribal, territorial and local leadership organizations and advocates working to end domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.<\/p>\n

[1] National Latin@ Network Casa de Esperanza, \u201cTestimonies From the Field: Benefits of DACA for Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence”<\/p>\n

[2] \u201c2017 Advocate and Legal Service Survey Regarding Immigrant Survivors\u201d<\/p>\n

[3]\u00a0Center for American Progress, \u201cA New Threat to DACA Could Cost States Billions of Dollars\u201d, available at\u00a0https:\/\/www.americanprogress.org\/issues\/immigration\/news\/2017\/07\/21\/436419\/new-threat-daca-cost-states-billions-dollars\/<\/p>\n

[4] Mary Kay Foundation, \u201cTruth About Abuse Survey Report\u201d, 2012<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

9.5.2017 – Ending the DACA program would be especially devastating for survivors of domestic violence … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/147"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4972,"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/147\/revisions\/4972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}