Editor’s note: CHN Executive Director Deborah Weinstein issued the following statement Friday in response to President Trump’s immigration proposal:
“President Trump’s reported plan in response to his own denial of legal status for the Dreamers is cynical, holding them hostage to extreme restrictions in immigration that must be rejected.

“The religious, service provider, civil rights, labor and other organizations that make up the Coalition on Human Needs have long sought full legal status for the Dreamers. Children brought here by undocumented parents have grown up to be valued members of our communities. We have invested in their education, an investment amply repaid by their work and service. They are Americans. We at CHN have also supported asylum seekers. We believe that all federal policies should be judged for their impact on families, and therefore strongly oppose anti-immigrant enforcement measures that break up families or prevent their reunification.

“We join the vast majority of the American public that wants the Dreamers to stay here legally. Congress should enact the Dream Act. It should reject further attempts to separate children from their parents; it should reject the speeded-up deportations in the President’s plan. A bipartisan agreement that fixes the problems inflicted by this Administration can be achieved. We call upon Congress to rise to that achievement, and to reject cynical ploys that split up families, damage communities, and undermine our democracy.”