Gardner throws support behind DREAM Act

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) is throwing his support behind the DREAM Act after President Trump moved Tuesday to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Gardner, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, joined his state’s other senator, Michael Bennet (D), in co-sponsoring the DREAM Act, which would shield young immigrants from deportation and lay out a path to citizenship.

“Children who came to this country without documentation, through no fault of their own, must have the opportunity to remain here lawfully,” Gardner said in a statement.

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Gardner’s backing of the measure came hours after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump administration would end DACA, a program implemented by former President Barack Obama that offers young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children a temporary reprieve from deportation.

The administration will phase out the program after six months, which it says will give lawmakers time to act on legislation. 

Gardner initially opposed DACA, but changed his position on the matter in 2014 while he was still serving in the House of Representatives. Tuesday marked the first time he has come out in favor of the DREAM Act, according to The Denver Post.

Bennet was the among the Gang of Eight, the bipartisan group of senators that wrote a 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed in the Senate, only to die in the House.

That bill would have shielded young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation.