WASHINGTON – Five Democratic women senators joined a wide range of advocacy groups Tuesday to call on Republicans to support legislation that would shield Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients and their families from deportation.
“Every single time I’ve asked these folks in the hallowed chambers of Congress, ‘Are you willing to keep a promise’ (to DACA recipients), not one of them said they are willing to keep it. Not one,” said Sen. Kamala Harris of California about (GOP senators’ unwillingness to extend the upcoming deadline for DACA recipients to apply for extended legal protection. Currently, under an executive order issued by President Donald Trump, all recipients whose two-year permits are set to expire before March 2018 are required to apply by Oct. 5 to get their expiration dates extended.
Speaking in front of the Capitol, Harris and Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii demanded passage of a bill that would unconditionally protect 800,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the United States at an early age from deportation. President Barack Obama had issues an executive order to provide two-year renewable permits to the so-called DREAMERS to stay in the country.
The senators made a moral case against amending their proposal to divide DACA recipients from their families through provisions against chain migration.
“These policies that only grant citizenship with contingencies start us down a slippery slope,” said Duckworth.
Last month, two Republican senators introduced legislation that included more rigorous requirements for young undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. legally. Sponsored by Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and James Lankford or Oklahoma, the bill would prevent chain migration or benefits for relatives and deter future illegal immigration through increased security measures.
“While Democrats continue to believe that Congress must vote on the DREAM Act again, the fact of the matter is that versions of the DREAM Act have already been introduced in multiple Congresses and have gone nowhere in more than a decade,” said Lankford.
Duckworth said DREAM legislation in the Democratic model is needed, but is only a first step.
“After the Dreamers, we need to work on full, comprehensive immigration reform,” she said.
