FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 2017

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

Congress, Now is Your Time: Pass the Dream Act Before the Holidays

WASHINGTON — With two days left before the end of the legislative session, Congress must vote on spending legislation to avoid a government shutdown. This is their final opportunity to take action on a bipartisan Dream Act that will allow 800,000 recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, to go home to their families knowing that this won’t be the last holiday they spend together.

Since President Trump ended DACA in September, leaders on both sides of the aisle have stressed the urgent need for a swift bipartisan fix that will allow Dreamers to continue to contribute to the country they call home. Immigrant youth have put their faith in the government to come up with a solution, and now it is up to Congress to keep their promise.

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

“Congress, the time to act is now. We cannot continue to defer the futures of hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth. Before you go home for the holidays, we are holding you accountable: pass a bipartisan Dream Act before the end of the year and deliver on your promise to Dreamers and their families. More than 13,000 DACA recipients have already lost protections. We cannot wait any longer.”

Brittany Aguilera, a DACA recipient whose work authorization expired earlier this month, added:

“For those like myself, whose DACA is now gone, for those who are waiting for theirs to expire, whose futures remain unknown, and for our families who are trying to maintain joy at the end of a very hard year, we are urging Congress to act now. This can all be resolved by passing a clean Dream Act. You can restore the holiday joy and promise of a prosperous and hopeful new year to all of us whose futures remain uncertain. Please, I and so many others like me are begging for you to hear our prayers and our words. Pass the Dream Act and start the New Year off right.”

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