Yesterday, President Trump attacked 800,000 young undocumented immigrants in the United States by terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. At EROC, the heart of our mission is to ensure that every individual has equal access to education, safety, and dignity, and DACA enabled hundreds of thousands of young people to access these basic human rights. Repealing DACA is an outright assault on these rights, motivated by xenophobia and racism.
We also know that immigration issues are closely intersected with sexual violence, both in and out of schools. Immigrants face a particularly high risk of sexual assault and intimate partner violence, especially if undocumented, and the very real threat of being detained and deported when seeking support and justice. This threat is often used as a tool of control and intimidation by abusers. Ending DACA will give more ammunition to assailants and impede immigrants from seeking the support and justice that all survivors deserve.
It is clear that today’s actions further endangers those already marginalized by their immigration status. It is also clear that this decision is consistent with a broader pattern of this administration’s attack on civil rights. To DREAMers, family, friends, and supporters: We stand with you and we will fight with you.
For further information, please contact info@endrapeoncampus.org.
End Rape on Campus (EROC) is a national survivor-led nonprofit dedicated to ending gender based violence on college campuses through survivor support, prevention through education, and policy advocacy. You can learn more at www.endrapeoncampus.org.
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