NASW STATEMENT:
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has joined five anchor organizations to sign on to an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of overturning a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Texas v. United States that blocked President Obama’s executive order to expand immigration deferred action programs.
More than 70 organizations with a wide range of interests, including educators, child welfare advocates, and health experts, are part of the amicus brief. NASW and the other organizations say the U.S. Supreme Court must uphold the President’s executive order because it will allow Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA+).
These programs have the potential of providing temporary deportation relief and work authorization that could impact nearly 3.3 million parents of minor children. Most of the children are already U.S. citizens. And about 300,000 young adults entered the United States as undocumented children.
If the Supreme Court lets the lower court ruling stand the lives of these children and their parents will be thoroughly disrupted.
The hold placed on the president’s executive order has put the legal status of more than five million children and their families in limbo for more than year. More importantly, these families are concerned about whether they will remain intact after the U.S. Supreme Court announces its decision sometime in June.
The amicus brief takes the position that implementation of DAPA could significantly improve the lives of these vulnerable children. A fully implemented DAPA will greatly reduce years of apprehension and uncertainty over legal status.
It will also enable parents to better provide financially for their children and improve the educational outcomes, self-esteem and emotional health of DAPA children.
With its long history of being a national leader in advocating for child-welfare and family unification, NASW is proud to be an anchor organization for amicus brief and is honored to be in the company of more than 70 other like-minded organizations.
We are confident the Supreme Court will embrace the arguments we put forth in the amicus brief and rule in favor of President Obama’s DAPA executive action.
Read the U.S. v. Texas amicus brief
For more information contact NASW Social Justice and Human Rights Manager Mel Wilson at mwilson@naswdc.org.
