The Diocese of Tucson's Bishop Gerald Kicanas joined other Roman Catholic bishops in Arizona and New Mexico to express support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program Thursday.
Bishops in Tucson, Phoenix, Santa Fe, Gallup and Las Cruces drafted a statement to "reiterate our strong and unwavering support for DACA youth so they do not have to live in fear of deportation."
The statement was a response to speculation this week that President Trump would announce an end to the Obama-era program that protected from deportation about 800,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and could meet certain requirements.
"While DACA is not a permanent solution, we support its continuance until a permanent solution can be found," the statement said. "Accordingly, we urge our federal elected officials to move forward with permanent solutions that grant relief to these young people, along with the chance to earn permanent residency and eventually seek citizenship."
