800,000 American dreams

@OFA
@OFA
Aug 29, 2017 · 2 min read

By U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, California

There are 800,000 immigrants in the U.S. known as DREAMers — young people who were brought to America as children and know this country as their only home — whose futures are under threat.

They’ve been put at risk by an administration that is reportedly on the verge of ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that shields these young people from deportation.

These kids did everything we asked them to.

They bravely came forward. They submitted to — and passed — rigorous background checks. They complied with every step of DACA for five years. And it worked: We got people out of the shadows so they could contribute to our communities, and we used valuable immigration resources elsewhere.

In exchange, we made a promise to protect them. This administration is threatening to break that promise by terminating DACA.

These 800,000 DREAMers aren’t faceless. We know them. They’re the children who play with our own kids; college students who study law and environmental policy; our neighbors with small businesses; and service members in our military.

I met with some of them this week and I can tell you this: They’re Americans.

I am going to do everything I can in Congress to protect them. But this has to be a larger fight — if you showed up to the Women’s March, or fought back against the Muslim travel ban, or made yourself heard in the fight to save Obamacare … we need you.

We need each other more than ever. Now is the time.


Originally published at www.ofa.us.

All On The Line

All On The Line is the grassroots movement to end gerrymandering and restore fairness to our elections and democracy ahead of 2021 redistricting. Join us: allontheline.org

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Respect. Empower. Include. Join the movement at ofa.us

All On The Line

All On The Line is the grassroots movement to end gerrymandering and restore fairness to our elections and democracy ahead of 2021 redistricting. Join us: allontheline.org

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