Schumer, Pelosi call for passage of DREAM Act in new op-ed

by Josh Delk - 09/29/17 12:24 PM ET

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate in an op-ed for CNN called for Congress to pass legislation ensuring protections for undocumented immigrants affected by President Trump’s cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged Congress to pass the DREAM Act before the six-month window Trump gave Congress to pass a law closes.

{mosads}Schumer and Pelosi pegged the Trump administration’s decision to end the Obama-era program as “morally and economically wrong,” citing the economic contributions of DACA recipients who have been temporarily allowed to stay in the country and pursue careers and higher education.

“They are an integral part of our communities, and their stories, their tenacity and fearlessness make them as American as apple pie,” they wrote.

The top Democrats cited the broad support among Americans for protecting the status of the nearly 800,000 DACA recipients in the country, who pay taxes and participate in the economy. The DREAM Act, backed by congressional Democrats, would expand the protections to between 1.2 and 1.8 million immigrants, commonly called “dreamers,” who were brought into the country illegally as children.

Senate Republicans have proposed an alternative bill that would provide a path to eventual citizenship for the immigrants, if they are able to maintain a status as a law-abiding citizen for a number of years and clear several federal requirements and background checks.

“This is not, and should not be, a partisan or political issue. Congress has a duty, and an obligation, to protect these Dreamers. We are ready to work with Republicans to get the bipartisan DREAM Act signed into law,” Schumer and Pelosi wrote.

The Democratic leaders also re-emphasized their demands for bipartisan progress on the issue, which they had previously discussed with President Trump in a controversial meeting earlier this month. Trump later disputed the Democrats’ claims of an agreement in the meeting, doubling down on his campaign pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico.

“Democrats reiterated that, while we will review any proposed border security measures, we absolutely will not support increased interior enforcement or building the immoral, ineffective and expensive wall,” Schumer and Pelosi said.

“And with those understandings, we agreed that there is a path forward,” they added.

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