Washington, DC – Today, The Arc released the following statement on the news that President Trump will wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program:

“The Arc’s public policy goals include protecting against forms of discrimination including that based on disability, ethnicity, race, religion, language, national origin, or any other protected status. The goals also call for providing a fair opportunity for people with disabilities to reside legally in the U.S. and to become citizens. We also urge appropriate waivers of immigration law to allow for active recruitment of direct support workers.

“For hundreds of thousands of young people with the DACA protected status, their nightmare came true with the news that the program will end and they are at risk of deportation for a decision years ago made by others when they were children. Many would be sent to countries they have no real knowledge of or contacts in. In some cases, deportation could be dangerous.

“Amongst those at risk are people with disabilities, their parents, siblings, friends, and allies. The natural support system for a person with a disability tends to be their family, and over the last several decades, American society has moved toward inclusion in the community instead of isolation for people with disabilities. And so when the family is ripped apart – siblings sent thousands of miles away, a person with a disability separated from their parents – life is turned upside down. When communities lose people of different abilities and backgrounds, we all lose. Ending DACA is an assault on community inclusion and would move our country backwards.

“This is a cruel outcome that Congress must fix before it’s too late – before people are shown the door and their lives, families, and communities are impacted forever,” said Peter Berns, CEO, The Arc.