Eleven CWJ members and allies met with the regional directors of Senators Grassley (Fred Shuster) and Ernst (Brittney Carroll) on Tuesday, January 16 to discuss immigrant justice, including the urgent need to pass a “clean†DREAM Act immediately.
Every day that Congress fails to pass a DREAM Act, more than 100 young people who came to the U.S. as children lose their work permits and are put at risk of deportation. A “clean†DREAM Act means creating a path to citizenship for young people without linking it to draconian measures that criminalize and terrorize their parents and relatives such as walls and ramped up detentions and deportations.
What we heard were essentially identical views from the two senators’ representatives. They are supporting the proposals put forward by right-wing Republicans Tom Cotton (AK) and David Perdue (GA). They have no interest in supporting a “clean†DACA renewal. They have no understanding of why DACA recipients might be concerned. They ask, “Do they think they will be deported on March 5, when DACA expires?â€
They choose to emphasize a package of draconian measures for more “border security†(a wall), more prosecution of immigrants, ending what they call “chain migration†and other proposals, as a condition for any relief for DACA recipients.
They need to hear from us now! A clean DREAM Act is good for workers, good for our economy, good for families, and it’s the right thing to do.