Washington, D.C. — The Center for American Progress joined by members of Congress will wear pin-back buttons with the number 122 printed across them throughout the next two weeks to call to attention the number of DACA recipients losing status every day that Congress fails to pass the Dream Act. The Center for American Progress estimates that the decision by Congress last week to adopt a two-week, stop-gap spending bill without permanent protections for Dreamers means that an additional 1,700 DACA recipients will lose their protection from deportation, jeopardizing their ability to work and remain with their families in the only country many of them have ever known.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) will wear the pin-back button on the House floor today and more members of Congress will follow suit during this critical two-week period before voting on the continuing resolution.
Tom Jawetz, vice president of Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement on the importance of passing the DREAM Act now:
Every day that Congress fails to pass the Dream Act, an average of 122 DACA recipients lose protection. By punting yet again last week and advancing a two-week, stop-gap spending bill, Congress placed the lives and welfare of approximately 1,700 more DACA recipients in jeopardy. These young people are becoming vulnerable to detention and deportation. They are losing their jobs, their driver’s licenses, and their ability to support their families in the only country that many of them have ever known.
While the Trump administration and some congressional Republicans continue to peddle the lie that Congress has until March to enact permanent protections for Dreamers, the truth is that approximately 22,000 Dreamers will lose DACA protections by March 2018, and hundreds of thousands already are bracing to lose DACA in the months following. It is long past time for Congress to stop playing politics with the lives of young immigrants and to pass the bipartisan Dream Act before the holidays. Continuing with business as usual means appropriating funds that will be used to deport Dreamers, plain and simple.
Related resources:
- “Thousands of DACA Recipients Are Already Losing Their Protection From Deportation” by Tom Jawetz and Nicole Prchal Svajlenka
- “The Economic Benefits of Passing the Dream Act” by Francesc Ortega, Ryan Edwards, and Philip E. Wolgin
- “The State-by-State Economic Benefits of Passing the Dream Act” by Ryan D. Edwards, Francesc Ortega, and Philip E. Wolgin
- “Interactive Map: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Populations and their Economic Contributions by U.S. Congressional District” by Center for American Progress and USC Dornsife Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (USC Dornsife)
- “A New Threat to DACA Could Cost States Billions of Dollars” by Nicole Prchal Svajlenka, Tom Jawetz, and Angie Bautista-Chavez
- “DACA Recipients’ Economic and Educational Gains Continue to Grow” by Tom K. Wong, Greisa Martinez Rosas, Adam Luna, Henry Manning, Adrian Reyes, Patrick O’Shea, Tom Jawetz, and Philip E. Wolgin
- “The Impact of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program Repeal on Jobs” by the Center for American Progress and FWD.us (FWD.us)
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Rafael J. Medina at [email protected] or 202.748.5313.