Today, the 5th circuit court of appeals rejected the Department of Justice’s emergency stay of the injunction in the lawsuit against the expansion of deferred action.

In reaction to the news, groups from the #Not1More campaign issued the following statements:

“Today’s decision by the 5th circuit is political theatre and judicial activism at its worse. They threaten to block progress but will not succeed. Communities won these protections and they will defend them. In times like these, the best defense is a good offense. The push for migrant rights is not limited to the courtroom in New Orleans. Its time to end immigrant detention, end police and ICE collaboration and expand deportation relief to the maximum amount possible.” – Marisa Franco of the #Not1More Campaign (Phoenix, AZ)

“We organized in Philadelphia to end the collaboration between local police and ICE, to keep our families and loved ones here with us, and we won. With that we helped build a strong movement to force the most powerful man in the country to act on our behalf. But our movement didn’t end there. There is more work to do and this injunction will not stop us. We here in Philadelphia are prepared to keep fighting for DACA and DAPA as well as the end to the criminalization of our people, an ICE Free Philly, the end of deportations and an end to the unjust detention of our families in Berks and beyond.” – Erika Almiron of Juntos (Philadelphia, PA)

“Once again politics are placed before people. The gains we won as undocumented and detained communities to pressure the Obama administration to act and stop at least some deportations last year, are instead being used to play politics with our lives. President Obama should move ahead and expand relief regardless of politics, since our communities continue being round up, detained and separated from their families through the deportation machine.” – Maru Mora Villalpando of Latino Advocacy (Seattle, WA)

“The courts may be holding up deferred action but nothing is holding the President back from ending the detention system, starting with trans and queer/lesbian/gay/bi detainees that ICE has proven unable and unwilling to keep safe. It was people power that moved President Obama to act and we will not stop until we have Not 1 More Deportation!” – Paulina Hernandez of Southerners on New Ground (Atlanta, GA)

“While we expected the continued delay of expanded deferred action as the courts continue to play political games with our families, the President’s hands are far from tied to stop the crisis of deportations our families continue to face. Even with notorious Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio facing possible jail time for violating a court order to stop racially profiling, President Obama continues to deport his victims. At the same time, the abuses in detention continue to cost us our lives, as with Jose Sahagun who died under mysterious circumstances at the Eloy Detention Center just last week. Justice for our community starts with an end to police-ICE collaboration and immigration detention.” – Carlos Garcia of Puente Arizona (Phoenix, AZ)

“Our community cannot sit back and wait for for courts to lift the DAPA injunction. We must continue to organize and demand an end to all deportation. And right now, the current administration can prioritize addressing the abuses of undocumented LGBTQ people and other vulnerable populations in detention and release them now.” – Jorge Gutierrez of FAMILIA TQLM (Los Angeles, CA)

“Although Admin Relief remains temporarily on hold, undocumented youth remain convinced that these programs will ultimately move forward, and undeterred in the fact that the President has more work and legal avenues to end immigrant detention and the deportation programs that prompted our community to come out of the shadows. If candidate Clinton can promise further action, then President Obama can and should deliver it.” – Hairo Cortes of Orange County Immigrant Youth United (Orange County, CA)

“Over and over again, we see political games played with the lives of our community. Millions of undocumented immigrants are pushing for the opportunity to be treated with dignity and respect as human beings. But meanwhile, the enforcement apparatus is still at work. We know that this decision does nothing about the ongoing deportation quota, and the ongoing criminalization of our communities. It does not address the root cause of why our communities are pushed out of their homes. With papers or without, we, as people of color, will continue to be targeted by the system. For that reason, it is important for us to continue to hold these elected officials accountable, and know that we will not sit and wait for action to be taken. We will fight until there’s #Not1More deportation, #Not1More POL-ICE collaboration, and #LiberationNotCriminalization.” – Edna Monroy of California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance

“The administration cannot have it both ways on immigration, saying its a champion for our community while continuing to raid our homes. 287(g) is a program that’s been ended almost everywhere in the country because of the abuse and profiling it causes but it’s still active in two of our counties.  The President doesn’t just have unused power, he has unfulfilled promises to complete to make immigration police more humane. He should fight with everything there is in court and complement it by finally ending police-ICE collaboration once and for all.” – Adelina Nicholls of Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (Atlanta, GA)

“Once more the so called judicial system has failed to deliver justice. We cannot count on the same government that oppresses us to deliver justice for us. This is not a surprise and should not discourage us from continuing to push, instead it should be a reminder that only those directly affected can deliver justice for themselves, and only by continuing to organize will we be able to achieve the justice that we deserve.” – Fernando Lopez of the Congreso de Jornaleros (New Orleans, LA)