Today, America should have seen protections from deportation extended for young immigrants who came here with their families as children. Instead, a federal judge in Texas late Monday put a last-minute hold on President Obama’s common-sense executive action on immigration.
The stay gives a coalition of 26 states — led by Texas — time to pursue a lawsuit to stop the orders.
This political theater distracts from the direct impact that such decisions, or dearth of action, have on our communities. I am disheartened to see a lack of political courage affect our young people. We are toying with their hopes and denying them the opportunity to feel safe in their communities, to contribute to their communities, to grow old in their communities.
Like so many, I want America to stop breaking its promises and get back to being a land of opportunity for everyone. We can do that by remaining undeterred in our efforts to implement common-sense immigration-reform actions.
Despite this temporary delay, there is no question the president’s executive actions will be upheld and enforced, benefiting hundreds of thousands of families and spurring much-needed economic growth nationwide. I encourage our immigrant families and individuals to keep preparing documents to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents.
In January, I took a stand with more than 30 mayors from large cities — from New York to L.A., Houston to Seattle — to support allowing eligible undocumented children and adults to apply for expanded deportation protections. The Cities United for Immigration Action coalition provided the court with the local perspective — our perspective — on why action against the president’s executive action is contrary to the public interest.
Enumerable elected officials, safety organizations and community leaders stand undeterred by this momentary pause. We will continue this campaign to bring millions out of the shadows and help them become productive contributors to our society.
America’s cities are home to a large number of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, and the immigrants in our cities make significant contributions to them.
Denver would not be the vibrant city it is today without a history of immigrant communities contributing unique talents, successes and hard work as entrepreneurs, small-business owners, leaders, educators, and workers across many different professional and service industries. Their work fuels our local economy and enriches our communities.
Locally, we have taken significant steps to strengthen the city’s support for immigrant communities by creating Denver’s first Immigrant and Refugee Commission and launching the city’s first dedicated office to support the well-being and integration of immigrants into our city.
Denver will continue to strive to be a city of opportunity for everyone. We will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our immigrant communities to achieve comprehensive, common-sense immigration reforms that will move this country forward, together. President Obama’s lawful executive action is a solid step in the right direction.
Michael B. Hancock is mayor of Denver.
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