“Diversity is what unites us.” PHI Statement on Administration Decision to End DACA

STATEMENT FROM MARY A. PITTMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE

“America is a nation of immigrants, and the Public Health Institute stands with each of them, regardless of immigration status. PHI decries, in the strongest of terms, the federal administration’s misguided call to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

“The deportation and criminalization of undocumented immigrants is a public health issue. Families and individuals that live under threat of deportation and arrest are less likely to seek preventative medical care and treatment for illness,  more likely to experience mental health concerns, and less likely to enroll their families and children in support systems, from schools and job support to vaccination and supplemental nutrition programs.

“The 800,000 young DACA Dreamers who entered the US at an average age of just six years old should not be at risk of criminalization and deportation. Instead, they should be held as examples of what America holds dear: a country where every person is valued, cared for, and given every opportunity to meet their full potential. Diversity is what makes us stronger and unites us; it cannot be what divides us.

“We call on congress to protect our dreamers, and the hope and opportunity they embody.”