The Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers) applauds the bipartisan Dream Act of 2017, introduced today by Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) joined by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY). This legislation outlines a path for Dreamers to become full and flourishing citizens of the country in which they grew up.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hannah Evans, hannah@fcnl.org
Diane Randall, Executive Secretary of FCNL, welcomed today’s introduction of the Dream Act stating,
Over more than a decade, Dreamers have tirelessly worked to be acknowledged and afforded the opportunity to fully thrive as U.S. citizens. Time and time again, Congress has let them down. It’s been 16 years since the first bipartisan introduction of similar legislation. These young people should not be required to jump through hoops or wait years to prove themselves worthy of staying in this country that we all call home. Quakers across the country have asked the Friends Committee on National Legislation to work toward a society where everyone’s potential may be fulfilled – in keeping with this faith-based vision, we know that Dreamers deserve nothing less than a swift pathway to citizenship. We applaud Senators Graham and Durbin for working together on this bipartisan legislative fix, and we call on Congress to expeditiously pass the Dream Act of 2017.
FCNL’s Legislative Representative for Immigration, Hannah Graf Evans, remarked,
Many eligible individuals are currently protected by an administrative program that is at grave risk of elimination. Through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, nearly 800,000 individuals have been able to live in safety while continuing to contribute to our society and communities. Withdrawal of the DACA program would have severe moral and economic consequences. It would put beloved members of our community in jeopardy of immediate deportation. Congress cannot continue to leave hundreds of thousands of young people in the lurch when they deserve a permanent, legislative solution. The Dream Act offers a solution, and Congress must act.
At this critical moment, FCNL calls on members of Congress to affirm the importance of DACA for all our communities, and urge President Trump to do everything in his power to keep it in place while Congress works to pass the Dream Act of 2017 into law.
The Friends Committee on National Legislation, the oldest registered religious lobby in Washington, is a nonpartisan Quaker lobby in the public interest. FCNL works with a nationwide network of tens of thousands of people from every state in the U.S. to advocate for social and economic justice, peace, and good government.
