Statement for Record to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary “Dream Deferred: The Urgent Need to Protect Immigrant Youth”
On May 8, 2024, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing entitled “Dream Deferred: The Urgent Need to Protect Immigrant Youth.” CLASP submitted a statement for the record detailing the successes of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and the urgent need for Congress to pass a pathway to citizenship to deliver relief for DACA recipients, Dreamers, and their 300,000 U.S.-born children.
Since its implementation, the DACA program has promoted child well-being by protecting more than 800,000 immigrants who entered the U.S. as children and have grown up in the United States. Despite its tremendous success, the program does not provide permanent protections to the over half a million current recipients. Moreover, it has been under threat multiple times, with the present fate of the DACA program in the hands of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Granting DACA recipients and all Dreamers a pathway to citizenship through S. 365/H.R. 16 would allow them to secure more stable employment; better access critical benefits; and remove the cloud of deportation, ultimately enabling them to provide a healthier and brighter future for their families. CLASP urges the Senate to swiftly pass S. 365 and continue to work toward an immigration system that advances the well-being of children of immigrants.
