FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 5, 2017

In response to President Donald Trump’s decision to eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Jobs With Justice Executive Director Sarita Gupta issued the following statement:

“Even after the departure of Steve Bannon, the Trump Administration continues to signal that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is brimming with white nationalist-fueled policies. Rather than going after greedy CEOs and corporations that depress wages, offshore jobs, fuel economic insecurity, and make workplaces worse, President Trump has decided to scapegoat young immigrants who are working hard, contributing to the U.S. economy, and making a better life for themselves and their families.

“Trump’s decision to throw out DACA must be seen in the context of the other pro-white supremacist actions he has taken over this summer, including:

• refusing to unconditionally condemn racists marching in Charlottesville,
• threatening to shut down the federal government unless Congress funds a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border,
• supporting the RAISE Act that aims to cut legal immigration in half,
• pardoning former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio after he defied court orders aimed to stop his illegal enforcement of federal immigration laws, and
• defending the Muslim ban.

“Taken together, the administration’s actions and policies on immigration and other issues, combined with the state-sponsored violence of ICE and Customs and Border Patrol are accelerating the vitriol and hate speech of Nazis and other white supremacists against people of color and immigrants. Jobs With Justice resists white supremacy and scapegoating of working people of color, whether it manifests as violence, hate speech, laws, or policies.”