Washington, DC – The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) welcomes the reintroduction of the American Dream and Promise Act by Rep. Sylvia Garcia (TX-29). The enactment of this bill is imperative as ongoing mass detention and deportations threaten to expel Dreamers, tear mixed-status families apart, harm local economies, and create lasting traumas.
Contact Tim McHugh: media@fcnl.org, 202-903-2515
“There’s been long-standing bipartisan support for Dreamers, making congressional inability to deliver particularly painful and perilous for them, their families, and our communities,” said Anika Forrest, FCNL’s domestic policy legislative director. “In the face of sweeping, indiscriminate detention and deportation, legislators cannot absolve themselves of decades of floor speeches, hearings, statements, and policy promises.”
The American Dream and Promise Act provides a pathway to citizenship for millions of people currently trapped in political gridlock. Under the bill, eligible Dreamers, who entered the United States as children, will have a chance to pursue conditional permanent residence status based on education, employment, or military service. The bill also applies to people who hold Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure. FCNL has long supported this legislative solution.
Repeatedly, polling from sources like Pew Research Center demonstrate that the majority of Americans believe in creating a system for undocumented immigrants to have legal pathways. This bill stands in defense of millions of long-standing community members who have been in the U.S. since childhood, built lives and families, advanced careers, and contributed immensely to their communities.
“Congressional action is the only way to ensure Dreamers – our relatives, neighbors, teachers, first responders, business owners, and co-congregants – are not unjustly and cruelly ripped from our communities. We applaud this steadfast solidarity with our undocumented neighbors.” Forrest added.
As a Quaker organization, FCNL sees the Light of God in all people. In this urgent moment of heightened fear and uncertainty, FCNL urges Congress to provide permanent protections for Dreamers and the larger undocumented community.
To learn more, please visit www.fcnl.org.
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