AAP Statement on Supreme Court Decision to Uphold Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program

By: Sally Goza, MD, FAAP, President, American Academy of Pediatrics

"The American Academy of Pediatrics applauds the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision rejecting the Trump Administration’s attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This ruling is a major victory for immigrant families and provides much-needed certainty to more than 700,000 young people whose futures have been on hold as they awaited a decision.

“DACA recipients enrich our communities. They are among our colleagues in medicine, working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have served our country in uniform, and they are now parents raising children of their own. The Academy stands with them in celebration of today’s momentous ruling.

"Research shows that protective immigration policies like DACA have positive health effects that are multigenerational. In our brief before the Supreme Court, the Academy argued that the unlawful termination of DACA put children’s health at risk and threatened families’ income and food security. Today’s ruling is a step toward a more equitable system for children in immigrant families, but our work is far from finished.

"We must now make DACA’s protections permanent, which we urge Congress to do right away. The Trump Administration must stop advancing policies that further jeopardize immigrant families’ health and safety. And finally, racism and discrimination harm everyone, including children. As we celebrate today’s ruling, we continue to fight all forms of racism and urge policymakers to do the same.”  

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org and follow us on Twitter @AmerAcadPeds