“I want to tell my senator, Senator Sinema, that I am so grateful for her efforts. They will change my life.” – Delia Rodriguez, Arizona Dreamer and Grand Canyon University sophomore
WASHINGTON – Today in a virtual press conference, prominent Arizona and North Carolina business and faith leaders, Dreamers, and other allies joined their voices in support of a bipartisan framework released by Sens. Sinema (D-AZ) and Tillis (R-NC). Provisions currently being negotiated include a pathway to citizenship for the country’s roughly 2 million Dreamers—young people brought undocumented to the U.S. as children, some but not all of whom have been allowed to stay, work, and study here legally under DACA.
Participants called attention to the fact that, short of congressional action, the fate of Dreamers—who contribute millions to the American economy and have been studying the past decade to take much-needed jobs in healthcare, child and elder care, and tech—remains in the hands of the courts.
Said Yahel Flores, State Director, Carolinas, ABIC Action, and a DACA recipient: “With control of the House slated to change, it is critical that Congress acts before the end of the lame duck session. This initiative would boost the economy, reduce inflation, and make our country more secure.”
Flores pointed out that over 90% of DACA-recipients are employed—and a study from the Niskanen Center estimates that the 2.3 million potential beneficiaries will contribute $1.2 trillion to GDP over ten years and $235 billion in net fiscal contributions.
“Senators Sinema and Tillis,” he concluded, “you will change my life and my 10-year son’s life if this legislation passes. Thank you for doing the hard work to get it done!”
Said John Graham, Chairman and CEO of Sunbelt Holdings: “In November, a majority of voters in our state showed that they’ve evolved beyond the ugly anti-immigration sentiment of Arizona’s past when they voted to change the constitution by voting YES on Proposition 308—allowing undocumented Dreamer students, most of whom have lived and gone to school in Arizona almost their whole lives, to pay the same in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities as documented students. It was a ballot measure both introduced and passed with bipartisan support—and it showed that the majority of Arizonans understand that Dreamers have become woven into the fabric of the state’s future.”
Proposition 308’s passage marked a 46 percent shift in Arizona voter attitudes in support of undocumented immigrants in just 16 years. Proposition 308 was not only bipartisan, he said, but incredibly popular, garnering the support of 83 percent of Arizona democrats, 54% independents, and nearly one-third of republicans.
Graham continued, “For more than a decade, DACA participants, their employers and employees, have been vulnerable to government indecision that has sown anxiety, instability, and legal limbo in their lives—and in our nation’s workforce. We need a solution now and that’s why we are here to support and encourage my Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Senator Thom Tillis to get this done by Christmas. Taking the bipartisan path is the right thing to do. We are grateful for your hard work.”
Said Delia Rodriguez, a Dreamer and student at Grand Canyon University in Arizona: “Dreamers like me want the chance to contribute to our communities, including as doctors, nurses, teachers and other professions that Arizona and our country needs. However, in order to do that we need to find a permanent solution. And I want to wake up everyday and not worry about my status. My future is in the hands of Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Thom Tillis. With their help, we can find a national solution that takes my life and my life plans out of limbo and allows me to pursue my ambitions without fear and anxiety. So I hope they will keep working hard so we can find a permanent solution to the DACA program this year. Doing so would make this the best Christmas ever for me and Dreamers like myself. I want to tell my senator, Senator Sinema, that I am so grateful for her efforts. They will change my life.”
Said Pastora Maudia Meléndez, President of the Federation of Christian Churches of North Carolina: “We all know that the immigration system has been broken for more than 30 years. As a Pastor, my faith has brought me to work with several Dreamers who are part of our faith community and country who constantly are eager to contribute to the economic growth of the only country they know. We have hundreds of thousands of Dreamers who belong to this nation and can’t see themselves living in another country.”
She continued: “So today I applaud the efforts of Senators Sinema and Tillis for coming together to create a bipartisan immigration package that, among other provisions, would provide a pathway to citizenship for the country’s roughly 2 million Dreamers.”
She concluded: “It is wrong to deny Dreamers the ability to work and highly immoral to threaten them with deportation, so I implore our U.S. Senators to move forward with this bipartisan solution for them and for our country’s future. Dreamers have been contributing to our nation and our economy for an entire decade and it’s time to do what’s right and to protect them with a pathway to citizenship.”
Said Oscar Romero, a Dreamer and a senior software engineer at Empower Project, North Carolina: “I have grown up in the state of North Carolina since I was 4 years old. Many of my family members have been an integral part of the agricultural and manufacturing industry for over three decades. I grew up seeing my parents in the fields of tobacco, zucchini squash, blueberries, and several manufacturing companies. I had my share of experiences as a farmworker and manufacturing worker.”
He continued: “I am the product of a public education from K-12 to my bachelor’s degree from UNC at Charlotte. I couldn’t receive federal or state financial aid, but through my academic excellence and determination, I received the Golden Door scholarship. I now work making digital technology to move our democracy forward. I have been a DACA recipient since 2013 and have had to renew it every year and a half, for the past decade. That is six applications, each at the cost of approximately $500. This is not sustainable for thousands of people.”
He continued: “Businesses, schools, health centers, and more are at the whim of DACA as well not knowing if any DACA recipients they currently employ will be eligible for employment tomorrow. I have credit cards and bank loans that banks expect me to pay back. Without employment I will not be able to do that. Who here has heard the question, ‘Where do you want to be in 5 years?’ Imagine not being able to answer that with your life in this country revolving on a 2 year cycle. You don’t know if you’ll even have work authorization or lose protections and live in daily fear of deportation.”
And he concluded: “DACA has been a transformative program for both its recipients and the country, demonstrating why expanding opportunities for immigrants is great for all of the United States of America. But it is not enough. Congress needs to take action, protect dreamers and deliver bipartisan legislation that provides a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers like me this year and I really hope both Senator Thom Tillis and Richard Burr can have our backs and make this happen. I want to say thank you to Senator Tillis for his efforts in getting this done by Christmas. You will change my life and many others in North Carolina and we are grateful for your efforts.”
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-elligible. 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.