Congress Must Prioritize Passing the Dream and Promise Act, Protect as Many People as Possible

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2019

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

Congress Must Prioritize Passing the Dream and Promise Act, Protect as Many People as Possible

WASHINGTON — House Democrats led by Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), and Yvette Clarke (NY-09) today announced the introduction of the Dream and Promise Act. The bill would provide a pathway to U.S. citizenship for certain immigrants whose futures in the U.S., the country they call home, have been thrown into uncertainty by the Trump administration’s decision to terminate Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and not to extend temporary protected status (TPS) and deferred enforcement departure (DED) for individuals from certain countries. This is the first standalone bill to address, simultaneously, the fate of immigrant youth and people with TPS or DED.

Diana Pliego, a policy associate at the National Immigration Law Center and a DACA recipient, issued the following statement:

“The Dream and Promise Act is a critical and welcome step toward allowing long-standing community members like me the stability and opportunity to more fully thrive in the country we know as home. The National Immigration Law Center has worked in support of such legislation for decades. Today we stand with many of our partners to support the Dream and Promise Act.

“This legislation would put eligible immigrant youth and people with TPS or DED — people long in need of permanent protections and made more vulnerable by the Trump administration’s cruel decision to throw their lives into limbo — on an urgently needed pathway to U.S. citizenship. After several failed cycles of Congress tethering “Dreamer” protections to the White House’s demands for harmful, hate-filled policies, the Dream and Promise Act rejects Trump’s extortionist tactics and takes a far better approach: ending the untenable status quo with an eye toward inclusivity and what will benefit all of us in the long term.

“We are grateful to Reps. Roybal-Allard, Velázquez, and Clarke for their leadership, and we urge Congress to prioritize passing the Dream and Promise Act, while also ensuring it remains a strong bill that will help as many people as possible.”

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