Salt Lake diocese responds to DAPA decision

Friday, Jun. 24, 2016

The Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City along with Holy Cross Ministries and Catholic Community Services of Utah issues the following statement in response to the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision blocking implementation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA):

“Today, a 4-4 decision by the Supreme Court leaves the previous decisions of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and Federal Judge Andrew Hanen in place, blocking implementation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). We are disappointed that this decision leaves millions of U.S. citizen children facing the potential deportation of their parents. It also means millions of parents will have to continue working in the U.S. shadow economy, millions of employers will continue employing their workers illegally, and the worker protections and labor rights of all low income workers will continue to be undermined by our dysfunctional immigration system. Today’s decision is yet another example of the desperate need to reform our broken immigration system and more fully recognize the inherent human dignity of immigrants. For the tens of thousands of immigrants in Utah who had hoped to apply for DAPA protections, we urge you to remain patient and vigilant in avoiding the scams and false promises of unaccredited individuals or services who may promise to help you apply for some form of legal status under DAPA or other non-existent immigration program. We strongly encourage all immigrants to not hire or retain anyone without getting a second opinion.”