Today, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) slammed the announcement from the Trump Administration that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program will be rescinded in six months, with new applications being halted immediately. The program has allowed nearly 800,000 immigrants who arrived in the United States as young children to live openly and contribute to their communities and the economy without fear of deportation. Today’s announcement has already been strongly criticized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, Microsoft, and other large employers for its cruelty and because it will wreak havoc on the American workforce and economy.

San Diego County has the seventh largest population of DACA-eligible residents of any county in America, with an estimated 38,000 San Diegans who are currently eligible or could be in the future. To be eligible for DACA, an individual must: have been brought to the United States before they were 16 years old; have maintained continuous residence here since 2007; be attending school; have earned a high school diploma or equivalent, or have been honorably discharged from military service; and not have been convicted for a felony or three or more misdemeanors. DACA applicants, or DREAMers, must pay nearly $500 to apply and receive a background check and fingerprinting.

Rep. Peters released the following statement:

“President Trump, in a display of total and complete cowardice, has outsourced the announcement to end DACA to the Attorney General – a remarkable abdication of responsibility for the heartlessness of an action that leaves 800,000 lives in the balance.

“Ending DACA is unbelievably cruel and it is un-American. It will also immediately damage our economic interests.

“Expelling hundreds of thousands of people who have known no home but the United States makes us weaker and diminishes our standing in the eyes of the world.

“Failures in leadership have led us to this point. Republicans in Congress refused to even allow a vote on comprehensive immigration reform in 2013 that would have protected DREAMers, which is what led to the creation of DACA in the first place.

“Facing this urgent deadline, Congress must finally step up, work together, and do its job. We must move swiftly to protect DREAMers and provide them and their employers with the certainty they deserve. If Congress does not act by March 6^th, 2018, it is complicit in this economic and moral catastrophe.”