DACA Recipients Interrupt Joe Biden At End Of Democratic Debate

Four protestors interrupted former Vice President Joe Biden during his closing remarks at the Democratic debate Thursday night.

Two of them wore shirts that said “DEFEND DACA, ABOLISH ICE, CITIZENSHIP FOR ALL.” The group was removed from the premises after shouting, “We are DACA recipients, our lives are at risk.”

The group was part of the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and were upset that the candidates did not discuss the future of recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an Obama-era immigration policy that granted a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and work permit eligibility to undocumented children brought to the U.S. while under the age of 16.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide if establishing DACA overreached former president Barack Obama‘s executive action authority in 2020. Oral arguments are scheduled for Nov. 12.

In a video posted on Twitter by NAKASEC, the protestors explained they were disappointed candidates glossed over immigration issues during the debate.

“Hearing that there wasn’t much spoken in the debate about immigration, we felt compelled to speak up and say something,” one of the protesters said. “I personally felt that I had been silenced for so long about my status that I couldn’t be silent anymore. It wasn’t planned. It was more emotional.”