Tom Steyer Statement on Trump’s Efforts To Abolish Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals

(LOS ANGELES, November 8, 2019) — Today, young Californians and students throughout the country are organizing walkouts as a mass show of support for preserving Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protections and keeping immigrants safe in their communities. The demonstrations are part of a grassroots effort in solidarity with undocumented youth and families ahead of the Supreme Court’s hearing on cases that challenge Trump’s decision to rescind the DACA program scheduled for November 12.

The are close to 190,000 DACA recipients in California, more than any other state, acccording to the Center for American Progress. Twenty-nine percent of the total DACA participants are in California.

Presidential candidate for the Democratic nomination Tom Steyer released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s efforts to end DACA:

“Trump’s constant attack on immigrants and their families is un-American. In a nation built by immigrants, we can see the countless positive contributions they make. DACA recipients in California contribute $3 billion in taxes. DACA recipients own over 10,000 homes in California and pay more than $180 million for mortgages and nearly $1 billion for rentals each year. Clearly, DACA is an investment that has paid off not just for the recipients and their families, but for the American economy and their communities in all of the states they are in.

As a Californian, I am proud to be from a sanctuary, majority-minority state that is home to so many of these bright and hard-working individuals. As president, I will fight to protect DACA, and commend these students for stepping up and speaking out.”

Paid for by Tom Steyer 2020.

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About Tom:

Tom Steyer left his successful investing business seven years ago to give his own money and all his time and energy to fighting for progressive causes. He soon became one of the country’s leading forces in registering more young voters and voters of color, fighting climate change, working for racial justice, and helping secure better lives for all Americans. Tom has led a number of people-first, grassroots campaigns that have repeatedly defeated powerful special interests, beating big oil to win clean air laws, forcing big tobacco to pay its share of healthcare costs, and closing a billion-dollar corporate tax loophole to fund public schools.

Tom and his wife Kat Taylor were early signers of the Giving Pledge, a commitment to give the bulk of his fortune to good causes before they die. Tom’s dedication to doing what is right comes from his parents. His father was a lawyer who prosecuted Nazis at the Nuremberg Trials; his mother was a journalist and teacher who volunteered to teach prisoners in New York City jails. Tom says his parents showed him the power of having the courage to do the right thing. Their greatest lesson, he says, was that our actions speak louder than our words – what we do is more important than what we say.