Time is running out for Congress to address the need for legal status for 3.6 million people in the United States known as Dreamers—those brought to the United States as children who know only this country as their home but lack access to permanent legal status.
Take Action: Urge Congress to create a pathway to permanent legal status for Dreamers today.
Last March, the House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6) with broad bipartisan support. Unfortunately, the Senate has failed to take up the bill. If it does not do so by the time the 117th Congress ends on January 3, 2023, the bill will have to be reintroduced and the process begun all over again in the 118th Congress.
Ten years ago, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was created through executive action. This program has given hope to many Dreamers, and DACA recipients have gained well-deserved reputations as high academic achievers, community leaders, and contributors to the U.S. economy. Nevertheless, even DACA recipients continue to lack access to permanent legal status, and their future in the United States remains uncertain.
The DACA program is not enough—it continually faces legal challenges that could strip Dreamers of their right to work in the United States and put them back on the list for deportation without regard for their families and communities that have come to depend on them.
Only Congress can create a pathway to permanent legal status for Dreamers. Please click here to ask Congress to take action for Dreamers today.
And join us in this Prayer for Integration of All New Comers from the USCCB Migration and Refugee Services.
Photo: Susan Gunn, director of MOGC, and Maryknoll Srs. Mary Ann Smith and Ann Braudis hold a sign that says "Defend DACA" at the U.S. Supreme Court, Nov. 12, 2019.