News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 18, 2020

Speaker Heastie Statement on Supreme Court DACA Decision


Today's Supreme Court ruling establishes what the Assembly Majority has long known to be true: Dreamers are an integral part of the economy and the social fabric of our communities.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, or DACA, was established to protect our young immigrants and ensure that they have a path forward and access to the American Dream. During this global pandemic, they have been an integral part of our essential workforce serving as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, health aids and in countless other critical roles.

Today's ruling lays clear what many of us have always known. The attempt to end the DACA program served no legitimate purpose. The administration in Washington's intentions were nothing more than a cruel attempt to fan the flames of anti-immigrant sentiment in this country at the cost of our economy and the livelihood of hardworking immigrants.

Here in New York, my colleagues and I in the Assembly Majority have fought tirelessly to protect our immigrant communities and secure a better future for immigrant children. After years of passage in the Assembly, the Jose Peralta New York State DREAM Act was finally enacted into law last year.

No matter what happens in Washington, the Assembly Majority will continue to stand behind our immigrant communities and fight for their future.