The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the urgent need to protect immigrant youth, particularly Dreamers who are recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Scholars and alumni of TheDream.US have signed a letter urging Congress to provide a path to U.S. citizenship for these individuals. Gaby Pacheco, an education leader and president of TheDream.US, is one of the witnesses at the hearing advocating for legislation that would give a pathway to legalization for young immigrant adults who have grown up in the U.S. Achieving bipartisan support for this legislation may be challenging, as different senators have varying priorities surrounding immigration policies.
Sen. Dick Durbin opened the hearing by highlighting the contributions of Dreamers and DACA recipients, while Sen. Lindsey Graham expressed that his focus is on addressing border security and the immigration crisis rather than fixing DACA. This shift in priorities reflects the ongoing political debate surrounding immigration policies in the lead-up to the presidential election. Despite efforts by some politicians to push for hard-line immigration policies by highlighting instances of serious crimes committed by undocumented individuals, research indicates that immigrants, both legal and illegal, are not more likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.
The hearing also includes testimony from witnesses such as Tammy Nobles, the mother of a young woman killed by an undocumented individual, highlighting the tragic impact of crime. More than 800,000 young adults who were brought to the U.S. as children have benefitted from DACA since its inception, providing them with opportunities to work and study without fear of deportation. However, ongoing legal challenges have created uncertainty for DACA recipients, with an estimated 400,000 young people currently ineligible to apply for the program. Witnesses at the hearing, including Dreamers and immigration policy experts, are advocating for legislation to provide legal status for these individuals.
Supporters of DACA emphasize that the program has been successful in integrating immigrants into American society, with recipients contributing billions to the economy and paying significant amounts in taxes. Dreamers like Irving Hernandez, a student studying health psychology, are eager for the opportunity to succeed and make a positive impact in their communities. Gaby Pacheco, a DACA recipient turned U.S. citizen, has been a longtime advocate for Dreamers and hopes to convey the success of the program to lawmakers. By sharing the stories of immigrant youth who have been left out of DACA, she aims to highlight the importance of providing a path to citizenship for these individuals.
