The White House’s cruel decision to slam the door on dreamers today serves no purpose other than to upend the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people who grew up in America and have no other place to call home. Dreamers are the latest victims of a broken immigration system that not only tears families and communities apart but also erodes everyone’s civil rights in the process.
The ACLU of Hawaiʻi, alongside our nationwide network of sister affiliates and national office, stand ready to defend the civil rights of dreamers and join the call on Congress to pass a clean and bipartisan bill, such as the Dream Act. This is not only Congress’ responsibility, however, as there is much we can do at the local level. Thus, we call on our state leaders and communities to demand that State and County law enforcement priorities, policies and tactics reflect long-standing Hawai`i values and not those of the Trump administration.
