The DREAM Act will be back in the House on March 12, with some key additions. Not only will it protect undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, as past versions of the bill have, but the bill to be introduced by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard will also protect refugees with Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure.
The Dream and Promise Act of 2019 will include a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, and “TPS and DED protections are included because President Trump’s cruel and reckless actions have increased the urgency to address these issues and protect these individuals in our communities,” according to Roybal-Allard. Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Yvette Clark will join Roybal-Allard in introducing it. The courts have blocked Donald Trump from ending TPS protections for people from Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador, as well as from ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protections, which cover 800,000 Dreamers.
It’s unclear if any Republicans will co-sponsor it, since the Republicans who joined on to make past versions of the DREAM Act bipartisan have either retired or been defeated.