CONTACT: Chase Tarrier, Public Policy Coordinator,
End Domestic Abuse WI
[email protected], 608.237.3985
Madison— Domestic violence victim advocates across Wisconsin are strongly opposing President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program today. With nearly 800,000 enrollees in the program nationwide, advocates are expressing serious concerns about the effect the rollback will have on immigrant and undocumented survivors of violence.
“Undocumented victims face some of the most serious barriers to protecting themselves and their children of anyone in our communities” said Patti Seger, executive director of End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin. “When survivors are afraid to contact law enforcement because of the threat of losing their families through detainment or deportation, perpetrators capitalize on that fear to further abuse and control their victims. By ending a program that has provided hundreds of thousands of youth with work permits and deferred action status, President Trump is putting countless victims and their families directly in harm’s way.”
“Since President Trump’s inauguration, advocates across the country are reporting dramatic decreases in the willingness of immigrant survivors to engage with the legal system. Whether it’s filing for a restraining order or calling local law enforcement to get help in times of crisis, immigrant victims are increasingly hesitant to seek out the legal protections that are lawfully available to them. The rollback of DACA will only further stifle reporting of crimes and push more victims to the shadows of our society where they are increasingly vulnerable to manipulation and violence. End Abuse is calling on President Trump to rescind his decision to end the DACA program, and for our WI Congressional leaders like Senator Ron Johnson and Speaker Paul Ryan to support legislation that makes DACA permanent without militarizing the border or criminalizing other immigrants.”
The DACA program was instituted through an executive order signed by President Obama in 2012 and has provided nearly 800,000 young people with work permits and deferred action status so that they can get the employment authorization and documentation necessary to remain and thrive in the US.
