San Antonio, TX – In an op-ed for the San Antonio Express News, San Antonio City Council Member Rey Saldaña calls on Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX), whose district includes part of San Antonio, to support the Dream Act.
Congressman Hurd’s district includes nearly 5,000 immigrant youth who would benefit from the Dream Act. The legislation would allow these Dreamers to further contribute to the country they call home. This includes Dreamers like Reyna, a San Antonio resident whose story Councilman Saldaña highlights in the piece, “Through adversity, Reyna has pulled herself up by her bootstraps and propelled herself toward opportunity. Except on paper, she is no different from those born in the United States. She’s a mother and an entrepreneur with a distinct American story of struggle and success.”
Find excerpts of Saldaña’s piece “Rep. Hurd: Help pass a clean DREAM Act.” below, and in its entirety here.
A fierce fight to protect Dreamers is shaping up in Congress, and the fight for a legislative solution comes down to the next two weeks. Members of Congress, such as Will Hurd, R-San Antonio, who represents the 23rd Congressional District, will have to make a choice: Either pass bipartisan legislation that includes a clean DREAM Act, or vote on a spending bill that funds their deportation.
I know Rep. Hurd has talked a good game on immigration. He’s a member of a Republican working group that is trying to fix our broken immigration system. When it comes to Dreamers and the DREAM Act, he’s said, “There are 800,000 young men and women who have only known America, and they should have legal status to stay here. I think this is something we can get done.”
Rep. Hurd, you’re right. Something can be done, but time is quickly running out. You must join with your Republican colleagues and congressional Democrats to pass a clean DREAM Act.
Nationwide, 122 dreamers are losing their DACA status every day. In Hurd’s district alone, there are 3,000 DACA recipients and 3,700 DACA-eligible young people who face deportation if Congress does not act in time. If these 6,700 young people are deported, his district stands to lose as much as $159 million a year in economic contributions from Dreamers. Statewide, Texas stands to lose $6.2 billion if Congress does nothing. That’s unacceptable.
As a member of the San Antonio City Council, my priority is to serve all of District 4’s constituents and help set the city up for success. I can’t do that if Dreamers and their families are living with the fear of being torn apart by deportation.
