WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Susan Davis has taken action to protect Dreamers and force a vote on the bipartisan DREAM Act, which would provide a permanent solution to allow young undocumented immigrants brought here as children to remain in this country legally.
Rep. Davis and over 100 of her House Democratic colleagues signed a discharge petition. Once the petition is signed by a majority of members, the House would be forced to take a vote on the legislation. Rep. Davis is also urging her Republicans colleagues to participate in this effort to force a vote.
“For Dreamers, America is the only country they truly know, having lived here nearly their whole lives,” said Rep. Davis, who is a cosponsor of the DREAM Act. “They are contributing in a positive way and are an essential part of building our country’s future. I hope every member – both Democrat and Republican – will do the right thing and uphold our highest American values and join in signing this petition to bring this bipartisan, bicameral bill to the House floor for a vote.”
The San Diego region is home to nearly 40,000 recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects them against deportation. They are among 800,000 Dreamers across the nation. President Trump’s recent decision to end DACA has these young people and their families now living in fear unless Congress acts.
There is a real economic impact if the Dreamers were to be deported. California would lose more than $11 billion in economic activity. Nationwide, it would mean almost half a trillion dollars lost. One study showed that employers would spend over $4 billion dollars to recruit and replace Dreamers who are deported.
Rep. Davis has met with Dreamers from the 53rd and participated in events in the community calling attention to the unique challenges they face, including the many who know no other home than the United States and may not even speak the language of their countries of birth.
H.R. 3440, the DREAM Act, is bipartisan, bicameral legislation which would permanently protect DREAMers from deportation. It was originally introduced by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL).
