Writers Guilds Statement on President Trump Rescinding DACA

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES (September 5, 2017) – The following is a joint statement from Michael Winship, President, Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), and Howard A. Rodman, President, Writers Guild of America West (WGAW):

As we said in January, when Donald Trump first attempted to impose a ban on Muslim immigration, “From its early days, the entertainment industry has been built by the imagination of immigrants.  Our guilds are unions of storytellers who have always welcomed those from other nations, and of varying beliefs, who wish to share their creativity with America.  We are grateful to them, we stand with them, we will fight for them.

This applies equally to the children of undocumented immigrants who came to this country not of their own volition but because their parents and families sought a better life and, in many instances, to escape from persecution. They have become a vital and productive part of American society and our unions, which represent many DACA recipients currently working in film, television and digital news. To summarily send them into exile, to deport them to other countries that many of them have never known, is a shameful crime of prejudice and malice.

The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) are labor unions representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media, and broadcast news. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars, and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit www.wgaeast.org. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, West, visit www.wga.org.

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