FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
November 10, 2022 – Lambda Theta Alpha joined FWD.us and other organizations nationwide for the 7th annual I Stand With Immigrants Day of Action on Tuesday, November 2, 2022. The sorority’s participation marks a continued fight to get Congress to protect DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, recipients from losing their work authorization and their protections from deportation.
According to FWD.us, despite DACA’s overwhelming success, the future of the policy—and the Dreamers protected by it—is facing urgent legal threats. Lambda Theta Alpha carried out its commitment to uplift the voices of immigrants during this time of needed congressional action for the protection of local communities. Our membership represented one of the largest groups on this Day of Action, with 33 chapters participating in student-led events taking place throughout colleges and universities across the country and virtually.
The campaign encouraged the exploration of our heritage(s) and recognition of our distinct and shared experiences. It aimed to bring awareness to our shared history and stand in solidarity with friends, neighbors, peers, teachers, and all immigrants who continue to drive this nation forward. The sorority’s National Political Education Initiative Committee (PEI) is proud to have helped facilitate the participation of a large portion of this year’s initiative by serving our chapters with the tools needed to implement a successful event.
Why is this year’s initiative historic? We are calling on Congress to protect Dreamers by passing legislation this year. Our communities and families need immigration reform, and right now, DACA is facing its greatest threat to date: Dreamers need permanent protections. In July 2021, a federal judge in Texas ruled that President Barack Obama’s signature immigration policy is unlawful, threatening a program that has protected more than eight hundred thousand young undocumented immigrants from deportation. The Biden Administration has since appealed the decision, and the case over DACA could ultimately go to the Supreme Court.
Some economists say that terminating DACA would have broader repercussions. The Center for American Progress (CAP), a Washington-based think tank, found that Dreamers collectively pay as much as $9.4 billion in taxes each year. CAP also notes that more than 340,000 work in jobs that the government deems “essential,” including in agriculture, education, and health care. Other research estimates that deporting all DACA recipients would cost U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) up to $21 billion.
President Biden promised to grant Dreamers a path to citizenship on the campaign trail. Upon taking office, he sent a comprehensive immigration reform bill to Congress, which would increase caps on legal immigration and give nearly eleven million unauthorized immigrants already in the country a pathway to legal status, including Dreamers. Analysts say that the bill is still under deliberation in Congress, where it will be nearly impossible for it to win enough Republican support to pass despite mounting bipartisan pressure. Although some Democratic lawmakers sought to incorporate a narrower set of immigration reforms, including for Dreamers, in their 2022 budget package, divisions within the party over how to address the border crisis hampered that effort.
If congressional inaction continues and the policy and renewals end, 22,000 DACA recipients will lose their jobs each month for the next two years, including critical healthcare, education, and personal care professionals. Further, 25,000 U.S. citizen children and 5,000 U.S. citizen spouses of DACA recipients will have a loved one or parent lose status each month over the next two years. Congress must immediately act to create a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers; after years of allowing the lives of hundreds of thousands of people to hang in the balance, they absolutely must-pass legislation as soon as possible.
For these reasons, participating in the I Stand With Immigrants Day of Action this year represents a fortified push for human rights in our immigrant community. The PEI committee applauds our 33 chapters who uplifted the aforementioned dynamic issues at hand.
Participating chapters included:
| Theta Chapter Rowan University | Delta Omicron Chapter University of California, Berkeley | Zeta Chi Chapter University of Northern Colorado |
| Beta Delta Chapter California State University, Long Beach | Delta Upsilon Chapter Lehigh University | Zeta Psi Chapter California State University, Dominguez Hills |
| Beta Eta Chapter Texas A&M University | Epsilon Alpha Chapter Kennesaw State University | Eta Gamma Chapter University of California, San Diego |
| Beta Lambda Chapter Pennsylvania State University | Epsilon Theta Chapter East Carolina University | Eta Eta Chapter George Washington University |
| Beta Omicron Chapter University of Michigan, Ann Arbor | Zeta Gamma Chapter Iowa State University | Alpha Delta Alumnae Chapter Silver Spring, MD |
| Beta Phi Chapter University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Epsilon Eta Chapter Villanova University | Alpha Eta Alumnae Chapter Los Angeles, CA |
| Gamma Epsilon Chapter Florida State University | Epsilon Rho Chapter Texas Christian University | Alpha Rho Alumnae Chapter Raleigh, NC |
| Gamma Iota Chapter Florida Atlantic University | Zeta Alpha Chapter Virginia Commonwealth University | Alpha Upsilon Alumnae Chapter Orlando, FL |
| Gamma Upsilon Chapter California State Polytechnic University, Pomona | Zeta Epsilon Chapter Syracuse University | Alpha Alpha Beta Alumnae Chapter San Diego, CA |
| Delta Nu Chapter Loyola University | Zeta Lambda Chapter Western Michigan University | Alpha Alpha Zeta Alumnae Chapter Richmond, VA |
| Delta Xi Chapter Lewis Clark State College | Zeta Phi Chapter Denison University | California Area 3 Leadership |
Aligned with its mission to promote political activism, Lambda Theta Alpha is proud to continue its partnership with FWD.us, which first began through this initiative in 2017. The campaign was supported with social media awareness using the hashtags #LTAPEI and #IStandWithImmigrants where members shared their local efforts.
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| Alpha Upsilon Alumnae Chapter Orlando, Florida | Beta Phi Chapter University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | California Area 3 Leadership |
Contact:
Myrna Ruiz, Vice President of External Affairs
Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc.
[email protected]
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About Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc.
Lambda Theta Alpha was founded at Kean University in 1975 as the first Latina sorority in the nation. Lambda Theta Alpha strives to develop strong leaders that produce and engage in political, social, and cultural activities. Based on the principles of Unity, Love and Respect, the Sorority was established for the unification of women through charitable and educational programs. Although Lambda Theta Alpha is Latin by tradition, the Sorority is inclusive to all women regardless of race, color, creed, sexual identity, gender expression, or religious beliefs.