NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO FIGHT FOR DACA 'HOME IS HERE' KICKS OFF OCTOBER 2
Los Angeles, CA - Mi Familia Vota, one of the largest immigrant defenders in California, in collaboration with national, state, and local organizations throughout the United States, kicks off a national effort to defend DACA, urge DACA recipients to renew their work permits, and urge Congress to protect immigrant families. The "Rise Up for DACA - Home Is Here" campaign is a coordinated effort to stop President Trump from ending a powerful, effective, and constitutional program that has protected more than 700,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. when they were children from deportation.
Mi Familia Vota and local partners will hold a rally and press conference at 4 p.m. Wednesday, October 2, 2019 in front of the Roybal Federal Building, site of the "Molecule Man" sculpture. We will hear testimony from DACA pioneers, beneficiaries, and those who missed out on DACA because of Trump's decision.
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on three DACA cases on November 12, 2019.
Through events across the country over the next six weeks, including DACA renewal clinics at Mi Familia Vota and other efforts to encourage as many DACA recipients who are eligible to renew their DACA to do so as soon as possible, digital storytelling, paid advertising, organizing, and rallies at the Supreme Court and in multiple cities across the country on November 12, the campaign will underscore why DACA is legal, constitutional, and highly successful.
Key DACA Facts:
DACA recipients, on average, arrived in the United States at the age of 7, and have lived here for 20 years. They are our classmates, our coworkers, and our friends. Most know no other country as home.
DACA recipients are parents to nearly 256,000 U.S. citizen children, and nearly every DACA recipient is part of a mixed status family. Ending DACA would rip apart hundreds of thousands of families.
DACA recipients contribute significant federal, state, and local tax revenues that help provide important benefits to millions of Americans.
DACA recipients and their households pay $5.7 billion in federal taxes and $3.1 billion in state and local taxes annually.
In addition to this, DACA recipients boost Social Security and Medicare through payroll taxes.
DACA recipients own 59,000 homes and are directly responsible for $613.8 million in annual mortgage payments.
DACA recipients pay $2.3 billion in rent to their landlords each year.
WHAT: Mi Familia Vota and local immigrant rights organizations launch national campaign to defend DACA. "Rise Up for DACA - Home is Here" urges DACA beneficiaries to renew their permits now, defend the program in the Supreme Court, and fight for a permanent solution in Congress.
WHEN: Wednesday, October 2, 2019, gathering at 3:30 p.m., rally at 4 p.m.
WHERE: Federal Building, 255 E. Temple Street, Los Angeles ("Molecule Man"/Swiss Cheese monument, across from Judge John Aiso Street)
WHO: DACA beneficiaries, immigrant rights organizations such as CHIRLA, California Dream Network (CDN), Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), Dream Resource Center-UCLA Labor Center, California Immigration Policy Center (CIPC), LA Action Table, California Table for Immigration Reform, Mi Familia Vota (MFV), National Immigration Law Center (NILC), Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), Korean Resource Center (KRC), and others.
Speaker sample:
Sagar Patagundi is a Los Angeles based home-owner who works as a program manager for one of the largest tech companies in the world. He migrated to the U.S. from India at the age of 11. Due to our tough immgiration laws, he grew up separated from his parents; this year (after 14 years of waiting) his father's visa was finally approved and 'Dad' was able to reunite with his three children in the U.S. His mother remains in India waiting on backlogged visa approvals.
VISUALS: Signs, posters, and large numbers of DACA defenders; testimonies from beneficiaries, pioneers and left-behind youth; chants and songs.
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Mi Familia Vota is a national civic engagement organization that unites Latino, immigrant, and allied communities to promote social and economic justice through citizenship workshops, voter registration, and voter participation. Mi Familia Vota has operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and Texas.
Posted by Latino Lubbock Magazine Digital Media
