Justice for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients may be delayed, but it will not be deterred. While the Republican-led Congress shamefully failed to address a DACA fix in last night’s vote, immigrant youth pledged to heighten already-escalated calls through mid-January, when legislators will again begin negotiating another spending package. The failure to pass the DREAM Act is a failure of the Republican Congress—and a failure of some Democrats who pledged to protect Dreamers yet still voted for a bill without protections for them:
The bill passed 66 to 32 in the Senate, with yes votes from 17 Democrats and one Independent who caucuses with them (Sen. Angus King of Maine). In the House, the bill passed 231-188, with 13 Democrats voting yes and 16 Republicans voting no.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged fellow Democrats to vote against the bill when it came through without key measures, including protections for Dreamers. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, a group primarily composed of House members, made Dreamer relief a top priority and even walked to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) office on Thursday to demand a meeting, where they asked him to urge Democrats in the upper chamber to oppose the funding bill.
Dreamers were engaged in advocacy up until the final hours, including sit-ins that led to arrests, and attempted to plead with members directly.
“At the beginning of the week there were 7 Senate Democrats committed to voting no on the CR and tonight we got 30 because immigrant youth shook politics,” said Juan Manuel Guzman, a potential DREAM Act beneficiary and leader with immigrant youth organization United We Dream. “We’re fired up and we’re going to win the Dream Act,” said Greisa Martinez, another leader with the group. “We aren’t in the shadows, we are powerful and we shine. Our campaign of love and resistance has transformed politics and we are just getting started."
It must be repeated: passing the DREAM Act is an emergency. There are 122 DACA recipients that will lose their work permits, driver’s licenses, and protection from deportation every day through January 19, 2018, when the stopgap bill expires. While all Democrats must hold the line come January, it’s Republicans who control Congress, and it’s up to Republicans who claim to be pro-Dreamer, like Florida Congressman and alleged immigration champion Mario Diaz-Balart, to fix what Donald Trump broke. Instead of pushing Speaker Paul Ryan to give Dreamers a vote, Diaz-Balart blamed Nancy Pelosi for his party’s inaction. That guy talks a good blame game, but never delivers.
In the meantime, undocumented immigrant youth will continue holding legislators accountable and fighting to stay in the only country they’ve ever known as home. And they’ll need our support. “Over 1,000 immigrant youth put our lives on hold and our bodies on the line to fight for our right to exist,” Martinez continued. “We took over more than 50 Congressional offices, shut down the Senate and the House and made our voices heard.”
“We may be delayed but we remain undeterred,” said immigrant rights leader and America’s Voice founder Frank Sharry. “The fight moves to January and we are optimistic that victory is within reach. The conditions are right for Congress to act to ensure that Dreamers are recognized in law as the Americans they are in fact”:
Americans support a solution and expect their elected representatives to deliver it. More than 8 out of 10 Americans want Congress to find a way so that young immigrants are able to remain in America; 2 out of 3 Republicans want the same. Allies from across the nation and from across the political spectrum -- including business leaders, faith communities, labor and progressive allies, educators, and more -- are calling on Congress to get the job done. The only place where this issue seems to be the least bit controversial is in Washington, DC.
In January, Democrats have leverage and Republicans need Democrats. If Democrats insist on the Dream Act being a must-pass priority and Republicans are willing to negotiate a decent, bipartisan policy approach, relief will be enacted. Sure, If Democrats signal weakness or if Republicans insist on poison pills, it could provoke a showdown and a standoff. But given the strong bipartisan support in both chambers for a solution, and the need for Democrats to deliver and Republicans to govern, we believe that however difficult the process, a breakthrough will be achieved.
“The courage and bravery displayed by immigrant youth throughout the past couple of weeks serves as a reminder of what the fight for the Dream Act is all about—the recognition of aspiring Americans whose sole wish is to contribute back to their communities,” said Juan Escalante, an organizer with America’s Voice and DACA recipient. “The fight for our lives and futures in this country is far from over. We will come back in January to ensure Congress passes a legislative solution to protect hundreds of thousands of young people, like myself, from deportation.”
It's a time for choosing and figuring out who we are. Are we going to say to young people who grew up in America that they can become citizens, or are we going to fund their deportation? It’s time for Congress to pull together and get this done, and now. Indivisible has created two tools to see how your Congress members voted. Remember, because of the enforcement dollars, “voting for this CR without the Dream Act attached was a vote to deport Dreamers.” Here’s the tool to thank them for voting to protect Dreamers. Here’s the tool to call them out for voting to deport Dreamers.