“We applaud Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard, Nydia Velázquez, and Yvette Clarke for introducing the Dream and Promise Act of 2019. This important legislation would lift the cloud of fear and uncertainty hanging over hundreds of thousands of the bright and talented young individuals known as Dreamers and allow them to earn lawful permanent residence in the United States and a pathway to citizenship in the only country they have ever known.
Brought here as children, Dreamers have overcome many barriers to contribute to our nation’s economy and security. They work and pay taxes, attend college, and serve in the military. But they have been forced into an unacceptable legal and political limbo following President Trump’s September 2017 decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The courts have kept DACA in place, but Congress has so far failed to act despite bipartisan and widespread support on Capitol Hill and across the country for permanent legal protections for Dreamers.
This bill also appropriately extends protections to immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) whose status has been terminated. Many of our institutions also have students and employees who have lived, worked, and studied while under TPS, and we support the protections for TPS in this legislation.
We urge the House to act quickly to pass this legislation, and call on the Senate to promptly take it up as well. The time to act is not just now, it’s long past due.”