N.Y.S. Interfaith Network Co-Chairs Josefa Castro, community project director at Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens, and Rev. Patricia Malcolm, of Churches United to Save and Heal, and Network Director Dr. Diane Steinman, commended the Obama Administration for granting relief for DREAM-eligible youth.

Their statement said: “The New York State Interfaith Network for Immigration Reform, a religiously diverse network of faith leaders and organizations, applauds the Obama Administration’s decision to grant deferred action for two years for DREAM-Act eligible young people, with the right to apply for renewal, enabling them to live without fear of deportation and giving them the right to apply for work authorization.

“Network leaders agree with President Obama that enacting this policy is the right thing to do for Dreamers and for the nation at large, which will benefit from the talents and energies of young people who want only to follow their dreams and help build the America of tomorrow.”

“Network leaders also agree that this policy is just a temporary solution, and not a substitute for Congressional action on both the Dream Act and Comprehensive Immigration Reform – legislation that is vitally important on moral grounds and because it is in the national interest.”