DACA Letters

An open letter to my Senators and Congressman

Dear Senator Portman, Senator Brown and Representative Davidson,

I am David Henley, from Ohio’s 8th Congressional District. I am a Catholic Religious Brother and serve my community as Vocation Director for the Glenmary Home Missioners.

I am writing to you because last week Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). I find the cancellation of this program reprehensible. I was shocked, disappointed, and angry by this announcement. I feel betrayed.

As a minister of the Church I have encouraged many young people to participate in the DACA program. For many of them, I wrote letters of support. DACA was a way for them to come out of the shadows and become contributing members of society. In the last five years, many of them have gone on to higher education and been able to find work to help support their families.

The young people who have received DACA status have done nothing wrong! They arrived in the USA as minors and for most of them; the USA is the only home that they know. They took a big step in coming out of the shadows, trusting that our government would protect them and allow them to stay. These young people have no other country to call home and canceling DACA makes it appear the U.S. Government is unwilling to welcome or protect them. By canceling DACA, these vulnerable young people with so much hope and potential, could lose their faith in the U.S. Government.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, the President of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said in reference to the cancellation of DACA that these actions “represent a heartbreaking moment in our history that shows the absence of mercy and good will, and a short-sighted vision for the future.” I hope that you will be on the side of history that has a positive, far-sighted vision for the future and can show good-will to the most vulnerable in our society.

I am writing this letter with sincere hope that you and your office will work to ensure that new legislation will be passed by the Congress to protect these young “dreamers.” I hope that the new legislation will include a pathway to citizenship for them, something that the DACA program did not offer. This legislation cannot wait; the cancellation of DACA has left these young people living in fear and unnecessary anxiety. Please act quickly to support a new legislative solution.

Sincerely,
Brother David Henley