Dream Act 2023

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Dreamers have lived with uncertainty for 11 years! Tell Congress it is time to step up and pass legislation to provide lasting protection for the Dreamers!

On September 13, 2023, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ruled that the revised DACA policy was illegal. If this decision is upheld, it could upend the lives of current DACA recipients and more than a million other immigrants who are eligible for DACA.

Act now to tell Congress we must Support the Dreamers, among other immigrants.

Many polls show a strong majority of registered voters (80% in some polls)^1. favor an earned path to citizenship for Dreamers. Only Congress can provide permanent stability for DACA recipients. It is time for Congress to step up and pass legislation to protect Dreamers, now by passing the Dream Act of 2023.

Current DACA recipients have spent an average of more than ten years here—this is truly the only home they have known. Their families are here—more than 1.3 million people live with a DACA recipient, including more than 300,000 U.S.-born children who have at least one parent with DACA. They are an essential part of their communities—nearly 80% of DACA recipients are employed, and about half of those are in jobs deemed essential, such as healthcare, education and childcare, and food production and processing. They truly helped keep our country functioning during the pandemic!

In addition, several hundred DACA recipients have served in the military (through the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest Pilot Program), and many undocumented Dreamers would be able to serve if they could become permanent residents.

Background:

An undocumented immigrant who was brought to the United States as a child and has grown up here is often called a Dreamer. FWD.us estimates that there are over two million Dreamers in the U.S. Currently, about 600,000 Dreamers receive temporary protection through a policy called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and this policy is under threat.

The DACA policy that the Obama Administration implemented permits some Dreamers to apply for a two-year renewable period of deferred action from deportation and an employment authorization document to work in the U.S. During the past eleven years, DACA has provided temporary relief from deportation and work authorization for more than 825,000 Dreamers.

In September 2017, the Trump administration announced a plan to phase out DACA, but three U.S. district courts issued injunctions preventing this phase-out. The Supreme Court upheld these injunctions but did not rule on the legality of DACA.

In May of 2018, the Attorney General of Texas and the attorneys general of eight other states filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, seeking an end to the DACA program. The district court judge ruled that DACA violated the law and barred the government from accepting new applications; however, current recipients can keep their status and submit renewals during the appeal process. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that DACA is unlawful but returned the case to the district court for a decision on the revised DACA policy issued by the Biden Administration.

On September 13, 2023, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ruled that the revised DACA policy is also illegal.

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On September 13, 2023, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ruled that the revised DACA policy is also illegal. If this decision is upheld, it could upend the lives of current DACA recipients and more than a million other immigrants who are eligible for DACA.

Act now to tell Congress we must Support the Dreamers, among other immigrants.

Both Chambers

Subject: Dream Act 2023

Message:

There are over two million Dreamers in the United States, including about 600,000, who currently receive temporary protection through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). They live with grave uncertainty since DACA’s future is threatened. Only Congress can provide permanent protection for the ‘Dreamers.’ It is time for Congress to end this uncertainty and pass legislation to provide a path to permanent residency for the Dreamers! I urge you to support and co-sponsor the Dream Act of 2023. If the recent ruling of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas that DACA is illegal is upheld, there will be a humanitarian crisis. Nearly two million DACA recipients and DACA-eligible immigrants could be deported, leaving their families devastated. Passage of the Dream Act of 2023 would avert this crisis with a path to permanent resident status. This would also allow more Dreamers to join the military services. As a person of faith, I believe that Dreamers are a valuable part of our communities and that providing permanent resident status for the Dreamers is a moral imperative. In fact, the Unitarian Universalist Association overwhelmingly passed an Action of Immediate Witness calling for a pathway to permanent residence for Dreamers. Since 2012, DACA has provided temporary relief from deportation and the ability to get work authorization to more than 825,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. They have all spent nearly their entire lives in the United States, and this is truly their only home. Their families are here—more than 1.3 million people live with a DACA recipient, including more than 300,000 U.S.-born children who have at least one parent with DACA. They are an essential part of their communities—nearly 80% of DACA recipients are employed, and about half are in jobs deemed essential. Financially, DACA-recipient households make significant contributions to the U.S. economy each year—$6.2 billion in federal taxes, $3.3 billion in state and local taxes, and, after taxes, $25.3 billion in spending power. We cannot afford to lose these valued members of our communities. Many polls show that a strong majority of registered voters (80% in a recent poll commissioned by FWD.us) favor a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. And as Judge Andrew S. Hanen wrote in his ruling: “This Court agrees that under our Constitution, only Congress can legislate and only Congress has the power to establish immigration laws.” It is time for Congress to pass the Dream Act of 2023, giving Dreamers an earned path to permanent resident status.

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