Update: June 5, 2019
By a vote of 237 to 187, seven Republicans joined 230 Democrats yesterday in passing the Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6) in the U.S. House of Representatives. (Find out how your Representative voted.)
The House Judiciary Committee voted recently in favor of provisions of the Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6), introduced by Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-40), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-07), and Yvette Clarke (D-NY-09). We now expect the bill to head to the House floor for a full vote as early as today, June 4, 2019.
This legislation includes a permanent path to U.S. citizenship for immigrant youth, including recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and individuals with temporary protected status (TPS) or deferred enforced departure (DED). This bill is much broader than past versions of the Dream Act debated in previous sessions of Congress because of the inclusion of TPS and DED, and there is an elimination of upper age limits to ensure protections go beyond immigrant youth to include more people who’ve been in the country for decades.
Take Action: Urge your Representative to support permanent protection for Dreamers.
Because this is a broader bill, we’ve heard from our partners and allies that it is unlikely to be passed by the full Congress as it is currently written. But, it is still important for us to speak out and advocate for Dreamers. We know Dreamers as our students, neighbors, and family. We cannot stay silent, and we cannot stay on the sidelines. We must continue to urge Congress to pass a bill that will provide permanent relief for Dreamers.
Katie O’Connell is director of advocacy and media outreach at NAFSA: Association of International Educators.