Dream Act Should Be Foremost in End-of-Year Legislative Priorities Talks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 27, 2017

CONTACT
Email: [email protected]
Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Hayley Burgess, 202-384-1279

Dream Act Should Be Foremost in End-of-Year Legislative Priorities Talks

WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders are slated to meet with the White House on Tuesday to discuss legislative priorities for the remainder of the year, and immigrants’ rights advocates are urging Republican and Democratic leaders to follow through on their promises to immigrant youth and pass the Dream Act.

Hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth were forced into a state of limbo after the Trump administration terminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in September. An estimated 10,000 young immigrants—and counting—have since lost DACA protections.

Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“We are in a critical moment. Our elected leaders have an opportunity, right now, to do right by hundreds of thousands of young immigrants and their families who have been living under excruciating uncertainty for months. Congress and the White House should act on the will of the American people and agree to pass the bipartisan Dream Act now.

“There is no time to spare. Every day that passes, hundreds of these young people are losing the protections of DACA and, with that, their ability to work, support their families, and continue to contribute fully to their communities. It’s time to enact a permanent solution that will cement Dreamers’ sense of security and belonging in this country, which is their home.”

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