Ron: DACA debate a "fundamental fight for fairness"

Days before the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments affecting the fate of more than 700,000 DREAMers nationwide, Ron joined in Eugene with young people who rely on the DACA program and their supporters.

Noting that there are an estimated 10,000-plus DREAMers in Oregon, Ron said at a news conference that the issue before the high court is not merely some academic topic for those young people and their families.

“It’s a real and frightening threat that they may be ripped away from their families and the only country they’ve ever known,” he said. “I am proud today and every day to stand up against that threat in what is a fundamental fight for fairness.”

The senator said DREAMers he has met throughout Oregon have done everything right, having worked hard, played by the rules, and contributed to their communities in Eugene and nationwide. 

Even as the case moves to the Supreme Court, he said Congress should keep its promise to DREAMers for a permanent solution. 

The House has passed bipartisan legislation that Ron said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should let the Senate make good on considering that pathway to citizenship DREAMers were promised.

Also speaking at the news conference were U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio; Val Hoyle, state Commissioner of Labor and Industries; Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis; state Sen. James Manning; David Saez, executive director of Centro Latino Americano; Joel Iboa, chair, Eugene Human Rights Commission; and Cynthia Aguilar Arizmendi, a DACA student at the University of Oregon.