FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 18, 2020

ST. LOUIS, MO - On September 5, 2017, the Trump administration attempted to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, endangering the futures of hundreds of thousands of members of our communities, including 6,379 Missourians. On November 12, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on the termination of DACA, and today it refused to allow the Trump Administration to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Without protections that the Court affirmed today, DACA recipients stood to lose their homes and their livelihoods. If DACA ended, they would be added to the list of those in constant danger of being deported and permanently separated from their families. Those at risk included 256,000 U.S. citizen children, according to the National Immigration Law Center, who could have lost their parents. In Missouri, if DACA had ended, this would have meant needlessly endangering immigrants to increased police harassment and fear while removing the limited protections many have enjoyed for nearly 10 years. 

Federal, state, and local leaders and agencies have a responsibility to protect immigrants and their families to keep all communities safe, and today, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that DACA recipients have a home here in Missouri and around the country. 

Missouri finds itself in a difficult moment during a global pandemic,  disproportionately impacting communities across the country, and amidst continuing fears of raids and deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or police brutality in Black communities and communities of color.

We can do more than what the Supreme Court did today. It is crucial to support immigrants by adopting policies to protect all of our communities. The Missouri Immigration Policy Coalition, a coalition of state-wide organizations and individuals, advocating for issues impacting immigrants in Missouri building a proactive policy platform that works toward cultural and legislative change, calls on our leaders to enact the following policies: 

We are urging Missourians to contact their state and community leaders to push for these changes.

Senator Roy Blunt and Senator Josh Hawley:

Not only support the Dream & Promise Act, but actively work to ensure the legislation is passed. 

State and municipal leaders across Missouri:

Guarantee free Covid-19 testing, treatment and services for all people, regardless of immigration status.

Invest in Black, brown, and immigrant communities by prohibiting CARES Act funding for police departments and corrections. 

Forbid local law agencies from unnecessarily inquiring about individuals’ place of birth and citizenship status is an essential step to limit discrimination against immigrants. For example, these questions should be removed from jail booking and pre-trial forms in criminal proceedings.

State and local officials must step up and fight to protect Dreamers by ensuring that local law enforcement officials don’t do the bidding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Chiefs of Police, Sheriffs, and Police Departments across Missouri:

Enact policies and law enforcement protocols in order to reduce the mass arrests/incarceration of Black people and people of color.

Sheriffs, jails, and elected officials should not hold people on ICE detainers in county jail or city detention facilities.

Public School Districts across Missouri:

Update school policies to reinforce schools non-compliance with ICE and to protect the confidential information of families relating to citizenship status, and review district policing practices to limit law enforcement engagement with students 

Create a preparedness plan in case family members are detained or deported, and ensure teachers and staff are properly trained about protecting the rights of children and on cultural competence. 

Remove School Resource Officers (SROs) from Missouri’s schools. SROs do not make all students feel safe. The presence of SROs constitutes a continuous threat to Black students and students of color and a direct feeder for the School to Prison Pipeline. 

Contact for leaders: 

Senators:Roy Blunt

PH- 314-725-4484

Address (MO): 111 S 10th St Suite 23.305, St. Louis, MO 63102

Address (DC): Russell Senate Office Building, 260, Washington, DC 20510

Josh Hawley

PH- (202) 224-6154

Address (MO): 111 South 10th Street, Suite 23.360

Address (DC): 212 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510

Find your Missouri state representatives here

Police DepartmentsMunicipal Services & Contracts - 314-615-0184PoliceContract Services UnitLieutenant Aaron Schafer

PH- (314) 615-0184

Email: aschafer@stlouisco.com

Chief of Police- Mary Barton

PH- (314) 615-4260 

Address: Office of the Chief of Police 7900 Forsyth Blvd. Clayton, MO 63105

Stl County SheriffScott Kiefer

PH- 314-615-4724

Address: 105 South Central Avenue 5th Floor Clayton, MO 63105

https://www.slmpd.org/dept_contact.shtml

The Missouri Immigration Policy Coalition is comprised of these organizations.

ACLU of Missouri, Advocates for Immigrants Rights & Reconciliation, Amnesty International - St. Louis, Bilingual International Assistant Services (BIAS), CAIR-MO (Council on American-Islamic Relations), Casa de Salud, Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America, International Institute of St. Louis, Jewish Community Relations Council, KS/MO Dreamers, Lifewise, Mi Gente: Latinx & Allies at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri Faith Voices, Missouri Immigrant & Refugee Advocates, Muslim Civic Initiative Kansas City, Progressive Jews of St. Louis, Saint Louis University Center for Service and Community Engagement, St. Francis Community Services, The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis