This statement can be attributed to Olivia Golden, executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP).

Washington, DC, January 23, 2018—The continuing budget resolution passed yesterday by Congress and signed by the president was wholly inadequate. While the resolution included the long-overdue reauthorization of the bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program, it fell far short in meeting the urgent needs of everyday families, particularly Dreamers.

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) is extremely disappointed that the negotiations did not include a permanent solution with a pathway to citizenship for the 800,000 recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program who have been living in limbo since the president’s decision to terminate DACA in September. Every day that we go without a legislative fix, 122 DACA youth lose their status, putting them at the risk of deportation and greatly undermining their economic security and that of their families and communities.

We know from our own research in states across the country that the deeply damaging effects of the Trump Administration’s hostile immigration policies, rhetoric, and enforcement actions affect not only immigrants themselves but also their children, extended families, and broader communities. For example, the devastating failure to act to help DACA recipients threatens the family stability and economic security of about 200,000 citizen children—as well as the success of schools, early childhood programs, and hospitals across the country that depend on teachers, caregivers, and health care providers with DACA status. That’s why Congress must act urgently to protect immigrants and their families.

We are committed to working alongside immigrant youth and our allies in the anti-poverty community in holding Congressional leaders accountable for their promise to consider legislation for DACA recipients within the next three weeks—and for enacting a permanent solution to help young immigrants, their families, and their communities.