Lame Duck Session Offers Last Chance for a DREAM Act For At Least Two Years
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) released a framework aimed at passing a Dream Act which would grant a pathway to citizenship for our nation’s more than 2 million Dreamers, people brought to the U.S. as children without documentation. In response to this promising news, ABIC Action released the following statements:
“For too long, Dreamers have been used as a political football. It is long overdue for Congress—Democrats and Republicans—to pass immigration reform that will ensure our Dreamers can stay in the U.S. and contribute to our nation and economy, and bring order to the border. I applaud Senators Sinema and Tillis’s efforts on a Dream and border deal” — Craig Duchossois, Executive Chair of The Duchossois Group and ABIC Co-chair.
“ABIC Action is encouraged by the bipartisan efforts of Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Thom Tillis that would provide a path to citizenship for our nation’s 2 million Dreamers and act on sensible border security. With control of the House slated to change, it is critical that Congress acts before the end of the lame duck session.
“Not only would this bipartisan legislation benefit Dreamers like me, but it would also boost the economy and reduce the cost of food for every American citizen struggling with 20% inflation. Over 90% of DACA-recipients are employed, in school or serve in the military and bringing 2 million Dreamers out of the shadows would create more than 1.4 million jobs for Americans and $46 billion in economic spending.” – Juan Carlos Cerda, DACA recipient & ABIC Action Deputy Campaign Director.
Background
DACA’s success has unleashed the economic potential of almost 800,000 people, allowing them to contribute to our economy, start families, buy homes, access healthcare, build businesses, and bring their talents to the industry sectors where they’re most needed. Three quarters of DACA participants in the workforce—343,000 people—are essential workers. Of those, 34,000 provide healthcare services and 11,000 work tirelessly keeping our hospital and clinic facilities up and running. As our nation faces a teacher shortage, 20,000 DACA recipients are working with kids in classrooms across the country. About 100,000 DACA recipients work in the nation’s food supply chain—roles that are more important than they have ever been in the wake of COVID’s disruptions.
But for too long, DACA participants have been vulnerable to government indecision that has kept their lives in legal limbo and filled them with anxiety and uncertainty. And DACA’s strict timeframes omit thousands of individuals who need it. More than 427,000 undocumented students are currently enrolled in postsecondary institutions, and of these, less than half (181,000) are DACA-eligible. Similarly every year, nearly 100,000 undocumented students graduated U.S. high schools, but only one quarter are DACA-eligible.
DACA has been a transformative program for both its recipients and the country, demonstrating why expanding opportunities for immigrants is good for all of America—but it’s not enough. Now is the time to build on the success of DACA and pass bipartisan legislation that provides a path to citizenship to all Dreamers, with or without DACA. The future of our country depends on it.
ABOUT
ABIC Action is the political arm of the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), a bipartisan coalition of over 1,200+ CEOs, business owners and trade associations across 17 mostly red and purple states. ABIC Action promotes common sense immigration reform that advances economic competitiveness, provides companies with both the high-skilled and low-skilled talent they need, and allows the integration of immigrants into our economy as consumers, workers, entrepreneurs, and citizens.