It’s been nearly a year since Donald Trump announced the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and hundreds of thousands of young immigrants continue to wait in limbo. “Dreamers have been on a roller coaster for 10 months,” Sayra Lozano, a Southeastern University graduate and DACA recipient, writes. “We have come close to a solution, and then some new political crisis diverts public attention. Falling out of the headlines also means falling off the congressional agenda. Despite countless promises from legislators, we are constantly put off.”
Trump had given the Republican-led Congress a March 5 deadline to pass permanent protections, only to sabotage several bipartisan plans himself. Months-long efforts to include the DREAM Act in spending bills failed, and while all House Democrats signed a discharge petition that would have forced a floor vote, Speaker Paul Ryan and his leadership killed the deal as it was only two Republican signatures away from success. Congressional Republicans, Sayra writes, “now continue to refuse to accept their responsibility to legislate.”
This is all happening in full opposition to the will of the American people, nearly 90 percent of whom want Dreamers protected now. ”Dreamers have written, called, lobbied, protested and risked our safety to share our stories publicly and stay relevant on Capitol Hill,” she said. “We have done this for ourselves, but also on behalf of immigrant groups even less protected than we are. Yet it does not seem to be enough to get our political representatives to fulfill their promises.”
While court orders have forced the administration to partially resurrect DACA, new applicants have been excluded, shutting out thousands of young immigrants who would have otherwise been aging into the program. And, the administration is challenging these orders by taking their case to an anti-immigrant judge in Texas, leaving Sayra and hundreds of thousands of others currently enrolled in DACA “living from court case to court case. Our futures hang on whatever some judge or elected official says next. It is all consuming and exhausting.”
“Should I pursue certain career opportunities, or go home because I don’t know how much time I’ll have with my family?” she asks. “Can I commit to buying a car or a house if I don’t know how long I will be here?” Sayra needs you to remember her and other DACA recipients like her in the polling booth so she can stay here where she belongs. “If the current Congress is unable to work together, I hope that 86% of Americans vote for candidates who are capable of passing immigration reform in November.”
“Dreamers grew up in this country, and we believe in American values as much as anyone,” she writes. “Indeed, we often feel we have to prove ourselves worthy of the American Dream. We believe in hard work and have not taken the opportunities DACA has given us for granted … we believe in America as a beacon of hope, where for centuries there has been room for immigrants to come and contribute to this nation’s success. It’s time for Congress to show us that it stands for these values as well.”