SUCCEED Act Not a Serious Proposal for Immigrant Youth

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2017

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Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Hayley Burgess, 202-384-1279

Republican SUCCEED Act Not a Serious Proposal for Immigrant Youth

WASHINGTON — Republican senators today announced a new legislative proposal to provide a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth. The SUCCEED Act, cosponsored by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and James Lankford (R-OK), would make eligible immigrant youth wait 15 years to become U.S. citizens. It would also force them to forgo due process rights, place conditions on their ability to stay and live in the U.S., and lock them into a prolonged process that would bar them from seeking other forms of immigration relief for which they could become eligible.

Kamal Essaheb, policy and advocacy director at the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“We’re glad to see continued growth in bipartisan support for a legislative solution for immigrant youth, but the SUCCEED Act clearly falls short. This bill is not a serious alternative to a clean Dream Act.

“Leaders in Congress should be focused on moving swiftly to provide certainty to immigrant young people whose lives have been upended by President Trump’s cruel decision to end DACA. Placing unnecessary barriers to their full inclusion is a step backward. It’s simply cruel to make immigrant youth choose between a secure future for themselves and being able to remain in the U.S. with their families.”

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