The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Justice for Immigrants (JFI) are urging Catholics to contact their U.S. Senators asking them to pass the American Dream and Promise (ADP) Act to protect Dreamers.
This week is National Migration Week 2022 and an opportunity to show support for the 3.6 million Dreamers—those brought to the United States as children who know this country as their only home but lack access to permanent legal status. It has been ten years since the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was created through executive action to give many young Dreamers protection from deportation and a work permit. Nevertheless, these DACA recipients continue to lack access to permanent legal status, and their future in the United States remains uncertain.
This uncertainty has been exacerbated by years of legal challenges, including a federal district court ruling in July 2021 that declared DACA to be unlawful, preventing new applications from being processed and jeopardizing protection for current beneficiaries. Any day now, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit could end protections for nearly 600,000 current DACA beneficiaries, terminating their work authorization and subjecting them to removal from the United States without any regard for their families or the communities that have come to depend on them.
For many years, the U.S. Catholic bishops have called on Congress to provide Dreamers with the ability to integrate as fully recognized members of our society.
Last March, the House of Representatives passed the ADP Act (H.R. 6) with broad bipartisan support. Unfortunately, the Senate has failed to take up the bill. If it does not do so by the time the 117th Congress ends on January 3, 2023, the bill will have to be reintroduced and the process begun all over again in the 118th Congress.
As one way to participate in National Migration Week, please urge your senators to pass the ADP Act. To send your message, please click below:
