Teachers’ Unions Praise DACA Ruling: ‘Victory’ for ‘15,000 Educators Who Will Continue’ to Teach

National teachers’ unions celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday that preserved President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) amnesty and work permits for 700,000 illegal immigrants, including nearly 15,000 “educators.”

“The Supreme Court decision is a stinging rebuke of the Trump administration’s ill-conceived attempt to end DACA, deeming it arbitrary and capricious,” said National Education Association (NEA) President Lily Eskelsen García, adding:

Most importantly, however, the decision is a much-needed and timely victory for the hundreds of thousands of DACA holders who will continue to work on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, including nearly 15,000 educators who will continue to sustain student learning.

NEA filed a legal brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming the Trump administration’s actions to end DACA were unlawful and should be dismissed, and that “irreparable harm” would come to hundreds of thousands of DACA holders should the Trump policies remain in effect.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), called Trump’s actions “cruel, callous and political.”

Nevertheless, Weingarten called the Supreme Court’s ruling a “temporary reprieve” that will still allow “thousands of educators, nurses, bus drivers and grocery clerks who are on the frontlines in the coronavirus battle” to remain in the United States.

AFT member Karen Reyes, a teacher and DACA recipient, was a declarant in the case of Trump v. NAACP. She said the ruling underscores “the Trump administration has been trying to use DACA as leverage for its anti-immigrant, xenophobic agenda.”

“We need to continue to push for a legislative solution with a pathway toward citizenship, and we need to vote in November to protect immigrants and their families,” Reyes added. “The times of using immigrant youth as bargaining chips for hateful policies and a border wall are over.”