Kinston, NC – NC FIELD Executive Director, Yessy Bustos, has issued the following statement on the announcement from the Trump Administration regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:
“Dear NC FIELD Family and Supporters,
On September 5, 2017 it was announced that the Department of Homeland Security rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and will stop processing any new applications for the program. To all the farmworker youth we work with who are impacted by this decision – and to their friends and families who are also concerned because of this decision – know that NC FIELD stands by you. NC FIELD works hard with migrant and seasonal farmworkers to create a safe and welcome space where one can learn and succeed in life. NC FIELD does not condone nor support any action that demonstrates intolerance, bigotry, or that promotes discrimination. We remain committed to celebrating and embracing our diversity, as that diversity makes us stronger.
Since 2012, DACA has allowed undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US as children, including some of our PJC Youth, to receive temporary work authorization and protection from deportation. It is important that we acknowledge that DACA youth and young adults are not just a statistic, but represent more than 800,000 individuals striving to live and work and prosper in the only home many of them have ever known. We stand in solidarity with DACA youth and their families who have been left unprotected from deportation and fear for their futures in the United States, their home.
Lastly, NC FIELD asks that you continue to ask your elected representatives to act – to act with compassion, fairness, and justice.
As always, thank you for your support for NC FIELD and its community,
Yessy Bustos
Executive Director