Tell Congress: Protect Dreamers and Provide a Pathway to Citizenship

Since 2012, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has served as a beacon of hope for more than 835,000 undocumented immigrants who call the United States home. DACA has transformed their lives, instilling in them a newfound sense of security and possibility. It has empowered recipients to live without fear of deportation, to work with dignity, and to pursue their dreams while making significant contributions to their local economies and the broader U.S. economy.

Despite these benefits, DACA remains under relentless legal and political threat. And it currently faces its biggest challenge yet: a continuing legal battle over its existence, as Republican attorneys general from Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, and West Virginia sue the federal government seeking DACA’s end. If DACA recipients lose their protections, they could face widespread harm, such as potential detention, deportation, and family separation.

DACA has opened the doors for recipients to pursue many opportunities, and the benefits have also flowed to their local communities and the entire United States. A recent CAP survey of DACA recipients found that 96.3 percent of respondents are currently employed or enrolled in school, and more than 30.7 percent of respondents are first-time homeowners. A pathway to citizenship would recognize their rich contributions to the country and permanently protect the hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients living in the United States. 

Without a clear path to citizenship, DACA recipients will continue to live in a state of limbo, unable to fully contribute to and thrive in the country they call home. Tell Congress to pass the bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 16) now.