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Just Hours Before Shutdown, Dreamers Tell Congress to Pass #DreamActNow

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Dreamers with United We Dream and other advocates in Washington, D.C. and around the country worked tirelessly to push for the Dream Act just hours before Republicans shut the government down.

In Yakima and Tacoma, Washington, Dreamers asked Republican Reps. Dave Reichert and Dan Newhouse to support legislation. In Chicago, protesters marched on Trump Tower. In Texas, Dreamers called Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) a Dream Killer, in response to actions he’s taken to deliberately try to kill a deal.

On Capitol Hill, advocates lined up in the halls of the building, ensuring that members of Congress and their staff couldn’t leave their offices without seeing them. They carried a makeshift prison, to symbolize the hundreds of Dreamers currently losing DACA protections every day and how Republicans are preventing immigrant youth from living out their dreams.

Last night, just hours before Republicans failed to keep the government open, advocates and members of Congress gathered on the Hill for a vigil. “When I look out at our Dreamers, I know I’m looking at the dream of who we are as a country. I know I’m looking at the future of our country, and I know our future is bright,” said one of the speakers, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA).

Echoed Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), “87% of the American people have said that we must give legal status to Dreamers. Republican leadership, it’s time for you to do it.”

View just some of the powerful tweets, pictures, and videos from yesterday: