Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration cannot immediately end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Senator Tillis has been on all sides of the DACA issue, introducing a reform bill which provided a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers before caving to Washington special interest groups and threats of a primary challenge by “walking away” from a bipartisan effort. North Carolina had the nation’s highest application rate in the program’s first two years.

“Which Thom Tillis will we see now — the Tillis who said ensuring a path to citizenship was ‘very important’ or the Tillis who caved to his political allies and walked away from reform efforts similar to one he previously advocated for?,” NCDP spokesperson Robert Howard said. “No matter which Thom Tillis shows up now, North Carolinians know that he consistently caves to powerful interests and won’t stand up for them. Congress still needs to enshrine DACA protections into law, and North Carolina families deserve a Senator who will fight for them – not someone who walks away when the special interest groups tell him to.”

Senator Tillis has repeatedly supported a path to citizenship for DACA recipients:

• “Giving a path to citizenship to 1.8 million – some adults, some still minors – who came across the border with their parents illegally is a reasonable, I think, a reasonable compromise for the DACA population.” (Spectrum, 8/7/18)

• “Providing certainty to the (Dreamer) population is very important to me. By providing certainty, I mean a path to citizenship” (Star-News, 5/30/18)

Senator Tillis also claimed he only supports a temporary measure that “does not provide a path to citizenship” before “dismissing” reform efforts like those he previously supported:

• “What we’re trying to do is figure out how you stabilize the problem, secure the borders so the problem can’t grow anymore. Stabilize the problem by giving some sort of temporary protective status that does not provide a path to citizenship, does not provide any fast path to citizenship.” (Fox News, 4/25/17)

• “[Tillis has] dropped any notion of deal-making on immigration with Democrats, walking away from 2018 talks to help Dreamers and dismissing comprehensive immigration reform as something that could happen ‘maybe 20 years from now’ after the border is fully secured.” (Politico, 11/18/19)

So, which Thom Tillis will we see now?