One week ago today, the Trump administration announced a decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Through DACA, more than 800,000 youth and young adults -- all brought here as children by their parents, most raised knowing only America as their home -- have been given an opportunity to work, and granted a temporary reprieve from the possibility of deportation, and the corrosive uncertainty and fear that are intrinsic to that possibility.
In Napa County, there are more than 1,000 DACA-eligible teens and young adults, and since 2013, our grants have helped nearly 600 of these Dreamers apply for or renew their DACA status.
Unfortunately, the end of DACA means that those we may have missed, or those who didn't apply for the program on their own, are not likely to have an opportunity to do so.
However, there is something we all can do, today, for local Dreamers.
In Napa Valley, there are at least 60 young people whose DACA expires on or before March 5, 2018. Every one of them faces a looming deadline of October 5, 2017 to submit a renewal application to the federal government, in hopes of maintaining their lawful status for another two-year period.
In the next
24 days, we will help as many of them as we can by paying for their $495 government application fee, or covering a portion of that cost, as appropriate. We will do this work in collaboration with the Napa office of a highly qualified nonprofit legal services corporation, the
International Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA); and, a network of family resource centers throughout the Valley, all of which are partners to Napa Valley Community Foundation in a broader campaign to promote citizenship.
Will you join us by making a tax-deductible gift today to our Napa Valley Dreamers Fund? Our goal is to raise $30,000 to help an estimated 60 eligible DACA youth pay for their renewal applications by October 5, so they can continue to work, support their families and/or pursue a higher education in our community.
Thanks to the generosity of several of our anonymous donors, we already have $15,000 in the Dreamers Fund, which means any gift you make will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to that amount.
There are three ways to contribute:
- Send us a check made out to Napa Valley Community Foundation, with "Napa Valley Dreamers Fund" in the memo line. Our mailing address is 3299 Claremont Way, Suite 2, Napa, California, 94558.
- Click here to donate by credit card securely on our website. Enter "Napa Valley Dreamers Fund" in the "Dedicated to" box.
- Join our crowdfunding effort on GoFundMe.
Last week, we spoke out publicly in strong opposition to the President's decision on DACA, not based on our politics, but based on our values.
Please join us to take action and stand with Dreamers in Napa Valley.
As Congressman Mike Thompson recently observed about Dreamers, "they are every bit as American as any one of us."
Thank you very much for your consideration.
