Jesuits Speak on What is At Stake In DACA/DAPA Supreme Court Case
BY ISN STAFF | March 14, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Supreme Court is preparing to hear oral arguments in U.S. v. Texas—the legal case that currently blocks implementation of the President’s DAPA and DACA expansion programs. Advocates, including Fr. Timothy Kesicki, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, as well as affected individuals, spoke in support of DACA and DAPA and what is at stake for the millions of immigrant families impacted by the ruling, during a Capitol Hill press conference on March 8, 2016.

Fr. Kesicki speaking at the Capitol Hill press conference.
Fr. Kesicki reflected on a number of points during his remarks, including that “The U.S. Catholic bishops have affirmed their strong support for President Obama’s Executive Order on relief for immigrant families.” He also offered a personal reflection saying, “I have personally sat with women at this border who have been separated from their families, barred from their children. On their behalf I advocate for the protection and defense of their basic human rights.” Fr. Kesicki’s full statement can be found below.
Other speakers included Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a graduate of the Jesuit-sponsored Saint Peter’s University; Kica Matos, Director, Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice Center for Community Change; Alida Garcia, Director of Coalitions & Policy, FWD.us.; Areli Zarate, a DACA-mented high school teacher from Austin, Texas; Police Chief Richard Biehl, of the Dayton Police Department in Dayton, Ohio; and Juan Carlos Ramos, a member of United We Dream who would be eligible for the expanded DACA program added.
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