Ramirez Statement on Texas District Court-Ordered Halt to Keep Families Together Program

Chicago, IL— Today, Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Vice Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee and the only member of Congress married to a Dreamer, released the following statement after Trump-appointed Judge J. Campbell Barker of Texas halted application approvals under the Biden Administration’s “Keeping Families Together” program.

“I am not surprised by the heartless efforts of Republicans and Trump-appointed judges who would tear families apart to score cheap political points. As the only Member of Congress married to a DACA recipient, I know firsthand how families wait for years, often decades, for a sigh of relief and how decisions like today’s can plunge them back into uncertainty. Families like mine expect real solutions that make Americans’ lives better, not political games and theatrics that play well on Fox News.”

BACKGROUND:

The court’s decision comes after sixteen Republican-led states sued to block a new federal program that could offer a path to legal status for nearly half a million immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens.