On Day of Bill Passage, Congress Must Not Lose Sight of Importance to Continue Fighting for Immigrants at Risk
The following is a statement from Pili Tobar, Deputy Director of America’s Voice, on the House of Representatives’ passage of H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act that would provide permanent protections for immigrant youth – Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) holders.
This is what leadership, persistence and courage looks like. We commend the House and Speaker Pelosi for doing what previous Speakers refused to do: moving forward with protections for immigrant youth, TPS, and DED holders across the nation who need permanent solutions now.
This is not a controversial issue, every day more and more Americans realize that uprooting the lives of millions of immigrants arbitrarily and their American families is cruel, unnecessary and only hurts us as a nation. The pressure on Congress will continue to grow as the fate of these programs remain in tedious court battles and as expiration deadlines hit for TPS holders.
Congratulations to the lead sponsors, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), the Members of the Judiciary Committee and the others who helped move the bill to final passage today, including Speaker Pelosi. The American Dream and Promise Act helps immigrants, strengthens our economy, and keeps families together. Members of the House of Representatives have taken the first step in passing urgent and humane legislation that upholds American values. Now, the ball is in the Senate’s court, we ask that Congress continues to protect the millions of immigrants’ lives across the country President Trump is trying to destroy.
