Today, Rep. Pete Aguilar issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:

“The president’s decision today to turn his back on the thousands of Dreamers living in our country is nothing short of despicable. For many of these young people, the US is the only home they’ve ever known, and this decision by the president tells them that they are not welcome here. DACA recipients are a part of our communities- they are our teachers and classmates, our coworkers and peers, our neighbors and our friends. To turn our back on them now is absolutely wrong, and I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find a real legislative solution to ensure that Dreamers can find success here in the United States.”

Rep. Aguilar is a tireless advocate for immigrants’ rights, and has worked throughout his time in Congress to come up with bipartisan solutions for the country’s broken immigration system. Earlier this year, he introduced an amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee appropriations bill to allow DACA recipients to be eligible for federal employment. Rep. Aguilar’s amendment passed unanimously by voice vote and was added to the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee appropriations bill before being stripped out by Republican leadership.