Danette O'Neal, PhD

After assuring young undocumented immigrants that they “shouldn’t be very worried,” President Donald Trump has made a cruel decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA provides young people who came to the United States as children temporary protection from deportation and the ability to work and pursue an education.
Even though President Trump claims he is “delaying” the end of DACA for six months, DACA itself ends today. And make no mistake, every day after March 5, young people will start having their lives upended, as their work permits expire and they become eligible for deportation once again.
The ball is now firmly in Congress’s court to protect the 800,000 young Dreamers who came forward, passed rigorous background checks, and registered with the government, who will now be in limbo. We must encourage Congress to pass a Dream Act immediately and without compromise, one that will not attempt to use Dreamers as a bargaining chip for a border wall or any other aspect of the anti-immigrant wish list.
The termination of DACA is just another sign that Trump has firmly aligned himself with the voices of white nationalists and nativists.
Now, we must all come together and defend the 800,000 young people who have been stripped of DACA’s protection. Here’s what you can do to rise up for Dreamers:

1. Call your member of Congress to support the Dream Act: With DACA ended, it’s time for Congress to take action and pass a clean version of the bipartisan Dream Act. Use dreamacttoolkit.org to call and urge your member of Congress to stand up for Dreamers.

2. Attend a rally: You can locate rallies in your area using Resistance Near Me.

3. Show your support online: Raise your voice to support the #DreamAct by tweeting and posting your support for young immigrants. Make it clear that they are #HereToStay. To find messaging, sample tweets, hashtags, slogans and more, click here.