Campaign Action
The new speaker of the House has done what the previous speaker refused to do for years: She has allowed legislation protecting perhaps the most widely known group of immigrants in the nation to see the light of day.
During a press conference led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a group of House Democrats introduced the Dream and Promise Act, which would put Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and other undocumented immigrant youth onto a path to citizenship. For the first time, this version of the bill also extends coverage to hundreds of thousands of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients, who have also seen their protections under threat from the Trump administration.
Altogether, more than two million immigrants stand to be protected by the legislation. “I am proud our bill contains a number of provisions that make it more progressive and pragmatic than previous versions of DREAM,” said Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard of California, who introduced the legislation with Nydia Velázquez and Yvette Clarke of New York. Notably, she said the bill would “permit certain eligible Dreamers deported by the Trump administration to apply for relief.”
Immigrant youth leaders are celebrating the legislation.
“The immigrant youth and families of United We Dream wholeheartedly support the passage of the Dream and Promise Act in the House of Representatives,” Cristina Jimenez of United We Dream said in a statement. “The new Democratic majority in the House has an opportunity to make a clean break from the Trump platform of hate and pass the Dream and Promise Act without anti-immigrant add-ons that would put our parents and our communities in danger.”
While the 2017 Dream Act had bipartisan support, 2019’s Dream and Promise Act has no Republican co-sponsors as of yet. Putting undocumented immigrant youth onto a road to legal status has overwhelming support among Americans across the political spectrum. In one 2017 survey, nearly 90 percent of Americans said they supported letting undocumented immigrant youth stay here. Immigrant families need our support. Call (202) 224-3121 today and voice your support for the Dream and Promise Act.