Dear SHPE members, supporters, and friends,

I’m writing to you from Washington, DC, where on Capitol Hill members of Congress have introduced legislation that would help our Dreamers, the inspiring young adults who are going to school, working, taking care of their families, defending their communities, and contributing to the future of America. As you know, on March 5, 2018, roughly 800,000 undocumented youth stand to lose their ability to work, learn, and live in the U.S. following the Trump administration's decision to end the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

The U.S. Senate completed its debate (for now) and unfortunately could not reach a bipartisan agreement to protect our Dreamers. For our part, SHPE has offered public support for a bipartisan bill, The USA Act (HR 4796) , which has 53 cosponsors in the House of Representatives (27 Democrats, 26 Republicans). The bill has been referred to several House Committees but a hearing has not yet been scheduled. The Senate companion bill S. 2367, the USA Act of 2018 , was introduced by Senators Christopher Coons (D-DE) and John McCain (R-AZ). The bill was voted on in the Senate, but failed to reach the 60 votes needed for passage 52-47.

SHPE is committed to supporting the members of Congress who are standing by Dreamers. To reinforce our commitment, SHPE has hired a public policy firm in D.C. and we’ve been meeting with like-minded individuals and legislators who have joined a bipartisan group to discuss and craft legislation on STEM-related issues.

Our goals in these meetings are to educate members on who SHPE is, how we can be a resource to them, and to offer our expertise on STEM-related issues. We are also sharing with them our support for DACA legislation and Dreamers, many of whom are pursuing STEM education and careers. To date, we have met with nearly a dozen legislators, all members of the STEM Education Caucus as well as the Executive Director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC, which consists of 31 Latino members of Congress).
We have also met with several potential strategic partners to discuss STEM-related policy including but not limited to: Excelencia in Education, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), and the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI).

In the coming weeks and months, we have meetings planned with many more potential partners like those above, and will continue to educate additional members of the House Education STEM Caucus about SHPE and its mission. SHPE will continue to participate in these ongoing policy discussions with organizations who have long held policy credibility and expertise in Washington. We are committed to sharing our goals and values as it pertains to the Hispanic community.

Finally, SHPE is proud and honored to now be a member of the STEM Education Coalition . The STEM Education Coalition works aggressively to raise awareness in Congress, the Administration, and other organizations about the critical role that STEM education plays in enabling the U.S. to remain the economic and technological leader of the global marketplace of the 21st century. SHPE is the first member of the Coalition to offer a Hispanic perspective.

A FINAL WORD ON THE FIGHT FOR OUR DREAMERS: Over 80% of the American people want Congress to pass a law that puts American Dreamers on a clear path to full citizenship. We need your voices to be heard, so we urge you to take action with us because we are better together !

WAYS TO TAKE ACTION ON DACA:
  • Call your Senator and tell them to support Dreamers. Visit this site to find a script on what to say and the phone number to call your U.S. Senator.
  • Register now so you can vote in the midterm elections on November 6. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate will be contested. More information here.
  • Support SHPE’s advocacy efforts in Washington by making a tax-deductible donation.

Thank you for your continued support, we will keep up the fight and we hope you will join us.

¡Adelante por que sí se puede!

Raquel Tamez
CEO