Washington, DC - Over the last couple of days, the United State’s Supreme Court has made decisions that come as a relief to us and others that are devastating.
In a devastating ruling, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of partisan gerrymandering. At a time when white supremacists are doing everything in their power to steal elections, suppress votes and disenfranchise communities of color, we are heartbroken by the court’s decision.
While the Supreme Court’s decision on leaving the citizenship question in the Census does not offer a clear resolution, UndocuBlack agrees with the courts that the Trump administration’s inclusion of this question is contrived. As advocates and impacted communities have argued, the citizenship question is an attempt at undercounting our communities and further disenfranchising us from accessing public services. Our position remains: under no circumstances should the Census include a question about citizenship. Undocumented immigrants, documented immigrants, and citizen alike deserve a complete count.
Finally, we are disappointed to see the Supreme Court caving to the Trump administration's request to review legal challenges to the termination of the DACA program. The Trump administration has been aggressively insistent on ending the DACA program while the Republican controlled Congress has consecutively blocked clean paths to permanent citizenship for DREAM-eligible immigrants.
UndocuBlack and impacted immigrants remain committed to continue to fight for our collective liberation without relying on the political class. We urge those who are currently in the DACA program to continue to renew as we await oral arguments later this year and a decision by June 2020.
UndocuBlack Network’s Director, Jonathan Jayes-Green, “The Trump administration continues to strip away at the rights and protections of immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, queer communities, Black and working class people as well as other marginalized people in America. While, in some ways, the courts have attempted to reduce the harm caused by the executive branch, we are disappointed that the Supreme Court’s decisions will allow for further disenfranchisement of Black communities.”
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