FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 18, 2020
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Adriana Rodriguez
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Statement by Brooklyn Bishop DiMarzio on Today’s Supreme Court Ruling on DACA
The Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, has issued the following statement in response to today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling preventing the discontinuation of the D.A.C.A. program:
“Today the United States Supreme Court did the right and moral thing with its decision to halt the Trump administration’s attempt to end DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, based on humanitarian grounds. The high court recognized the intent of the law and also the human impossibility of affecting a change which would lead to the deportation of many young people brought to the U.S. as children.
The Dreamers came to this country with their parents, with no intent to break the law. For most of them, America is the only country they have ever known. Many dreamers have come and fulfilled their own American Dream, getting an education, and making a life their parents could only dream of. Today’s news reports highlight their success and their contributions to our country. In one it said ‘frontline health care workers involved in responding to the coronavirus epidemic rely on about 27,000 DACA recipients, “including dentists, pharmacists, physician assistants, home health aides, technicians” and nearly 200 medical students.’
This decision is right and just for these undocumented youth, who have been victims in a fierce political debate and have been living under the constant fear of deportation. Deporting the Dreamers to unfamiliar lands would disregard their sacrifices, contributions, and immense potential. It would also be a great loss for our country.
Immigration is one of the most complex and controversial issues of our time. These past 50 years of my priesthood have been dedicated to assisting immigrants and refugees. Today, I am hopeful for our country, that this decision by the highest court in the land will lead to the comprehensive immigration reform we have been talking about for years.”
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Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio has long been a national and international leader in the defense of migrants and newcomers. He is Chairman of the Board of the Center for Migration Studies. Bishop DiMarzio was a Member of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. In addition, he has served as Chairman of the Migration Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Chairman of the Board of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), and the representative from the United States to the Global Commission on International Migration, a United Nations-sponsored Commission.
Bishop DiMarzio also served on the Boards of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) and the National Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Forum. He has chaired the Board of Trustees and is a member of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI). In addition to the many leadership positions he has held, Bishop DiMarzio has published numerous papers and speeches and testified before Congress on migration issues on many occasions.