(In the Name of Allah the most Compassionate the most Merciful),
The Imam Council of Metropolitan St. Louis (ICMSTL), a council representing the city’s 18 Islamic Centers and the Missouri Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Missouri) denounce President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). We are heartbroken at the terrible decision which will not only impact the 3,500 young hardworking DREAMers living in Missouri or the over 800,000 DREAMers living in the U.S. but the moral character of our nation.
DREAMers are youth who positively contribute to society, work to provide for their families, build economic opportunities, serve in our military, and inspire all of us. This inhumane heartless decision puts DREAMers, their families, and all of us in a 6-month limbo where if Congress does not pass comprehensive immigration reform, which they have been unable to achieve for over a decade, will face deportation.
From a purely financial perspective, kicking the DREAMers out of our country will not only devastate communities but may cost the U.S. economy $460 billion in GDP loss according to 400 leaders of major American businesses. As Muslims, we recognize that no human being is illegal and should live under the constant threat of deportation.
We call on all people of conscience, our fellow Americans to contact their elected officials and demand a change for the DREAMers and a pathway towards citizenship. We conclude with the words of Allah in the Holy Quran when He says, “And those who emigrated for [the cause of] God after they had been wronged - We will surely settle them in this world in a good place; but the reward of the Hereafter is greater, if only they could know” (Quran 16:41).
We pray for the safety of all the DREAMers, their families, their communities, and our nation to navigate a moral resolution.