Bill to Protect People with DACA Underscores DACA’s Importance

WASHINGTON — Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) have introduced legislation aimed at allowing people who are eligible or have applied for temporary relief from deportation and for work authorization through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to continue to live in the United States without fear of deportation.

This bipartisan legislation would not provide these young immigrants with a path to citizenship or permanent lawful status. Rather, it would create a mechanism to make it possible for certain young people to live free from fear that they would be targeted for deportation under the Trump administration.

Below is a statement from Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center:

“This bipartisan legislation provides a welcome reminder that allowing young Americans-in-waiting to contribute more fully to our communities is not a partisan issue. And for good reason: DACA works. Under this program, young immigrants have started new businesses, completed their educational goals, and become even more interconnected to the communities they have grown up in—and all of us, immigrant and native born alike, have benefitted.

“That’s precisely why the Trump administration should not rescind DACA. Our economy and society have improved thanks to the contributions young immigrants have made.”

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