The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives reintroduced a new version of the Dream Act on Tuesday, which would put roughly 2.5 million people on a path to U.S. citizenship.
According to The Hill, “The proposal includes a path to citizenship for many Dreamers — undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors — and beneficiaries of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) programs, but it does not include any provisions on border security or immigration enforcement funding.”
As Vox pointed out on Monday, the two groups protected under the new Democratic legislation “stand to lose protections” after Donald Trump “moved to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects many DREAMers from deportation, and has declined to renew temporary protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants under the Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure humanitarian programs.”
The legislation is also a stark contrast to the Trump-Republican immigration policy, which has been defined by walls and children in cages at the southern border.
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The Democratic proposal isn’t just good policy – it’s good politics
The Democratic legislation – the Dream and Promise Act – isn’t just a sensible policy proposal, but it’s also good politics. It solves a crisis Trump created in a way that avoids the divisive and ridiculous argument over the president’s fantasy border wall.
And, as The Hill report noted on Tuesday, roughly 80 percent of the country supports protections for Dreamers.
In other words, the American people don’t believe in tossing people out of the country who were brought here through no fault of their own, especially when many of these undocumented immigrants continue to positively contribute to communities all across the country.
Going into 2020, Donald Trump and Republicans have a choice:Â They can continue to align themselves with the cruel and inhumane immigration policies that have defined the past two years, or they can embrace a practical plan that has bipartisan support.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
