Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi vowed to pass legislation that would put DREAMers on a pathway to citizenship when her party retakes control
“Our House Democratic Majority will once again pass the Dream Act to end the uncertainty and fear inflicted on patriotic young men and women across the country.” Pelosi said in a statement Saturday, responding to a letter sent Thursday by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Lawmakers in the Caucus urged Pelosi, who is likely to secure her second term as speaker of the House, to schedule votes on legislation to codify protections for DACA recipients and for immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) within the first 100 days of the 116th Congress.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-New York, one of the members of Congress who signed the letter to Pelosi, told CBS News that Democrats should move ahead “expeditiously” in January to pass bills that shield DREAMers and TPS holders from deportation, without providing any funding for a wall on the southern border — which President Trump and many Republicans have said needs to be included in any bipartisan immigration proposal.
“These young people are still in limbo,” Espaillat said. “Had it not been for the courts, they would probably be underground, they would be in the shadows.” The Trump administration tried to dismantle DACA, which covers approximately 800,000 undocumented immigrants, in the fall of 2017 — but a prolonged court battle has kept the program alive.
The government has appealed the TPS court ruling and urged the Supreme Court to hear the DACA case. In her statement, Pelosi also suggested Democratic-controlled committees in the House will probe the White House’s controversial practice of separating migrant children from their parents near the U.S.-Mexico border.
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