Washington, D.C. — Today, Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced the Succeed Act, a conservative immigration bill that offers relief to some young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers, but with significant strings attached. Tom Jawetz, vice president of Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement regarding the bill:
Dreamers aren’t bargaining chips, and introducing bills such as the Succeed Act only serves to waste days that are critical to passing a clean Dream Act. We should be focusing on protecting Dreamers whose lives are now in danger and who are riddled with anxiety over their future since President Donald Trump is taking away the protections they received under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Americans of all backgrounds, including 73 percent of Trump voters, have signaled that they strongly support protecting immigrant youth. We are encouraged by the fact that Sens. Tillis and Lankford are supporting permanent protection for Dreamers, but their bill falls far short of what a true protection should look like. It is imperative that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) bring the Dream Act—the only bipartisan solution—to the floor for a vote.
A CAP analysis released September 19 found that passing the Dream Act could add at least $281 billion and as much as $1 trillion to U.S. gross domestic product over the next 10 years.
CAP experts are available to speak on this topic. For more information or to coordinate an interview, please contact Tanya Arditi at [email protected] or 202-741-6258.