Congresswomen Garcia, Ramirez, 65 Members of Congress Urge President Biden to Take Immediate Action to Protect Dreamers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 14, 2024

CONTACT: 
Brytan Mendes, brytan.mendes@mail.house.gov; (202) 225-1688 (Rep. Sylvia Garcia)
Jowen H. Ortiz Cintrón, jowen.ortizcintron@mail.house.gov; (202) 339-1395 (Rep. Delia Ramirez)
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A day before the 12th Anniversary of the implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia(TX-29), the chief sponsor of the American Dream and Promise Act, and Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), the only member married to a Dreamer and a co-lead on the bill, led 65 members of Congress on a letter to President Biden outlining a series of executive actions he should take to protect Dreamers and modernize and strengthen the DACA program. In the letter, the representatives push President Biden to act immediately given the fragility of the program by the constant legal and political attacks. 

“Over the past 12 years, DACA has allowed young people to live, work, and thrive in the only country they have called home. As you know, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will almost certainly rule DACA as unlawful, given its previous rulings against immigrant youth, sending the program once again to the U.S. Supreme Court. The rollercoaster of legal uncertainty around DACA is destabilizing and traumatizing, as our immigrant communities deserve to be safe, free from the extreme stress and fear that comes with the threat of deportation, and able to plan their futures,” wrote the group of House Members to President Biden. 

The members of Congress led by Congresswomen Garcia and Ramirez also urge the President to provide immigration relief outside of the program for DACA recipients, DACA-eligible and non-eligible youth, and their families and communities. 

The representatives’ requests include:

• Returning discretion to immigration officers and judges to grant relief to categorical bars that prevent spouses of U.S. citizens from obtaining lawful status;
• Streamlining the process by which DACA holders may obtain immigrant or nonimmigrant status;
• Processing DACA renewal applications as soon as possible, as delays place many individuals at risk of losing their work authorizations or valid driver's license, threatening their ability to work or go to school;
• Increasing outreach to DACA recipients about other immigration pathways they may qualify for;
• Expanding humanitarian pathways to provide administrative relief for vulnerable groups that include DACA recipients; 
• Streamlining the approval processes for DACA renewals and Advance Parole applications;
• Expanding parole-in-place to include all U.S. citizens and their mixed-status families and extend significant public benefit parole to long-term workers; and
• Providing work permits to the 600,000 eligible "Dreamers" under 18 years old who do not qualify for DACA. 

The letter is also signed by Representatives Pete Aguilar (CA-33), Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Cori Bush (MO-01), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), André Carson (IN-7), Greg Casar (TX-35), Sean Casten (IL-6), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Lou Correa (CA-46), Jim Costa (CA-21), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Danny Davis (IL-7), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Daniel Goldman (NY-10), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Al Green (TX-09), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Summer Lee (PA-12), Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Betty McCollum (MN-04), James McGovern (MA-02), Grace Meng (NY-06), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Eleanor Norton (DC Delegate), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Katie Porter (CA-47), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Darren Soto (FL-09), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), David Trone (MD-06), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Gabe Vasquez (NM-02), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Nikema Williams (GA-05), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24).

For the full text of the letter, CLICK HERE.

BACKGROUND

Saturday, June 15, marks the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, established by former President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden. Over the past 12 years, DACA has given more than 800,000 Dreamers—many of whom have spent the majority of their lives in the United States—the ability to work lawfully, pursue an education, and continue contributing their immense skills and talents to enrich our communities.

Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia is the chief sponsor of the American Dream and Promise Act, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients. The bill has been introduced five times before. For the first time in six years, Congresswoman Garcia secured Republican co-leads for the bill, highlighting a commitment to building a bipartisan coalition to secure the bill’s passage. As of today, the bill has 206 Democratic and Republican cosponsors. Congresswoman Delia Ramirez is the only member of Congress married to a DACA recipient. Since coming to Congress, Representative Ramirez has prioritized delivering a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and achieving humane, comprehensive immigration reform for the broader undocumented community.  In July 2023, Congresswoman Ramirez became the first freshman in the House to co-lead the reintroduction of the bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act in the 118th Congress alongside Congresswoman Garcia.

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