WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union, United We Dream, MoveOn.org, and SEIU kicked off a new campaign demanding Donald Trump take action to save 800,000 immigrant youth from deportation. The launch comes on the eve of the arbitrary deadline Trump set for Congress to deliver a solution for the crisis he created when he announced he would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program this past fall.



The campaign includes multiple six figure advertising buys focusing on Trump, the man who put immigrant youth in danger. A 30-second video spot speaking to Trump directly will air during Fox & Friends, his favorite show. The ACLU will also be using aggressive digital tactics to reach Republican influencers, honing in on White House and RNC staff. The ads will be featured in D.C. area taxi cabs and in leading outlets such as Axios, Fox News, and Politico. The organization will also provide a feature that allows its two million members to tweet the 30-second ad directly at Trump.



“This campaign is about holding Trump accountable,” said Lorella Praeli, ACLU director of immigration policy and campaigns. “He created this crisis when he ended DACA in September, and he has sabotaged every reasonable legislative solution. We are taking our fight for Dreamers and immigrants’ rights to Trump himself. We will maintain pressure on him and demand that he fix what he broke when he ended DACA six months ago.”



Today’s launch event at the Ellipse, near the White House, featured speakers from the ACLU and UWD as well as impacted immigrant youth. Hundreds of attendees got a first look at the 30 second ad, which uses Trumps own words against him. The event featured a 16-foot parachute banner with Trump’s photo and the phrase, “Time to show the love.” There was also a digital countdown clock to March 5, Trump’s self-imposed DACA deadline.



“Trump created the crisis that we face, set the deadline of March 5 to fix it, and then mobilized to block the Dream Act and three bipartisan proposals. Since Trump killed DACA, immigrant youth have been losing our protections from his agents every day. Instead of becoming citizens of the country that is our home we are being hunted. This needs to stop and the man who can stop it is Donald Trump,” said Greisa Martinez Rosas, advocacy director of United We Dream and potential Dream Act beneficiary.



The 30 second ad is available here:

https://youtu.be/lG9xEEdEh58



The Spanish version is online here:

https://youtu.be/VBu96BVqDxQ