AAAJ Outraged at Delays on Dream Act, Calls for Resolution in January
Congress Passes Continuing Resolution but Fails to Include DREAM Act
Washington, D.C. – December 22, 2017 – Today Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep the government running but failed to include the DREAM Act as must-pass legislation before holiday recess.
Since the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice) has called for passage of a clean DREAM Act — a bipartisan piece of legislation that provides a path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants – without any other provisions, policies, or trade-offs meant to negatively impact the immigration system.
Advancing Justice, a coalition of five civil rights organizations and collective vocal advocates for DACA recipients and the DREAM Act, issues the following statement:
“While Senators and Representatives head home to spend time with their families and enjoy the holidays, over 13,000 immigrant youth live in growing fear that this may be the last holiday they will spend united with their families in the U.S. Other immigrant families already face empty places at their family dining tables.
Every day, 122 more immigrant youth lose their status. With no passage of the DREAM Act in sight for the remainder of 2017, more than 800,000 people stand to lose their deportation protections, their jobs, and their stability.
After weeks of public pressure led by undocumented youth, a handful of Senators and Members of Congress pledged their support for a swift passage of the DREAM Act by the end of the year.. For those who were not moved by the hundreds of undocumented activists and their allies mobilizing around the country, you have turned your back to these communities and leaving them at risk of deportation. There will be another opportunity in the new year to do what is morally right and pass the DREAM Act. We demand you to do the right thing in January.
Congress must not fail our young people. The first few weeks of the New Year are more critical now than ever for Congress to pass this much needed and publicly supported legislation.”
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Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice | AAJC (Washington, DC), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice – Chicago.