Thurs 3/14: Tell your Rep. to cosponsor H.R. 6 – “The Dream and Promise Act.”

Action: Ask your representative to fight all forms of family separation, starting with H.R.6.

H.R. 6 provides permanent protection and a path to citizenship to 2.5 million immigrants, including Dreamers, people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), and it does it without punitive trade-offs, like cutting family immigration, border wall funding or new enforcement policies. MIRA Executive Director Eva A. Millona states: “The Dream and Promise Act is a breath of fresh air. It sends a strong message to Dreamers and TPS and DED holders: We know this is your home. We know how much you contribute to this nation – and we stand behind you.”

Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] to thank Rep. [___] for cosponsoring and supporting H.R. 6 – “The Dream and Promise Act of 2019.”

Rep-check here. 207 congressmembers (!!!) have already cosponsored this, including our own Julia Brownley and Salud Carbajal.

Contact
Rep. Julia Brownley: email, (CA-26): DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779
or Rep. Salud Carbajal: email. (CA-24): DC (202) 225-3601, SB (805) 730-1710 SLO (805) 546-8348
Who is my representative?: hq-salsa.wiredforchange.com

Background:

(from Majority Leader Steny Hoyer)

Embed from Getty Images
Dreamers and advocates attend a rally in support of a Clean Dream Act in Los Angeles, California on March 5, 2018, the deadline for DACA recipients from the Trump administration that went into motion six months ago. / AFP PHOTO / Frederic J. BROWN

Dreamers: Dreamers are young people who were brought to the U.S. as children. This is their home. In 2010, House Democrats passed the DREAM Act to provide a pathway to citizenship, but the Senate GOP refused to take up and pass the bill. In 2012, President Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in June 2012 which required Dreamers to submit applications to immigration authorities. In exchange, they received protection from deportation and a work permit, allowing these young people to enroll in higher education; work as teachers, paramedics, and other professional careers; serve in the military; buy homes; and contribute to their communities and the economy.

House Republicans took control of the House in January 2011, and for eight years did nothing to reform our broken immigration system. In 2017, President Trump terminated the DACA program, upending the lives of 800,000 Dreamers who call this country their home. Dreamers contribute to our economy: deporting Dreamers could mean 1,716 jobs lost per day and 300,000 people eliminated from the work force. Removing DACA recipients from the workforce will cost us $460.3 billion in GDP loss over a decade. It will cost employers $3.4 billion in unnecessary turnover costs, and would cut contributions to Medicare and Social Security by $39.3 billion over a decade. Moreover, DACA recipients drive economic growth in their communities, with nearly 6% of DACA recipients having launched businesses, many employing American citizens. Further, almost 55% of DACA recipients purchased a vehicle, and more than one in ten have purchased their first home.

Temporary Protected Status: TPS was first created by Congress in 1990. It offers an estimated 437,000 migrants from 10 countries protected status after fleeing natural disasters and violent conflicts in their home nations. TPS holders cannot confer their immigration status to family members abroad nor use their TPS as a basis for sponsorship, regardless of the crises they may face, and they cannot access most federal public benefits. Since 2017, President Trump has taken steps to roll back this program, sending immigrants back to their home countries without evidence that there have been concrete improvements in those countries.

On November 6, 2017, President Trump ended TPS for 2,500 Nicaraguans.
On November 20, 2017, President Trump terminated TPS for 60,000 Haitians.
On January 8, 2018, President Trump ended TPS for 200,000 Salvadorians.
On May 4, 2018, President Trump ended TPS for 57,000 Hondurans.

TPS holders are long-term, integrated members of communities across the United States. On average, recipients from Honduras have lived in the United States for 22 years, recipients from El Salvador an average of 21 years, and recipients from Haiti an average of 13 years. Nearly one-third of households with Salvadoran, Honduran, and Haitian TPS holders have mortgages. TPS holders have labor force participation rates over 80%, and are on track to contribute $164 billion to national GDP over the next decade. The cost of rolling back TPS is projected to reach billions of dollars in GDP over the next decade, along with a $1 billion in turnaround.

Deferred Enforced Departure (DED): DED is a protected status authorized by the President. In 1991, Liberians received TPS status as a result of a seven-year civil war. Their TPS status was extended under both Republican and Democratic presidents until it expired in 2007. President George W. Bush used DED to extend their protection.

However, on March 27, 2018, President Trump removed DED status for 4,000 Liberians, sending them to a country they have not lived in for more than a decade and that is still recovering from the Ebola crisis.

The Solution!

H.R. 6 provides a permanent legislative solution to address the crisis created by the President when he ended DACA and took away TPS and DED protections for individuals covered by those programs.

Dreamers would earn conditional permanent resident status for ten years and void removal proceedings if they came to the U.S. at age 17 or younger and arrived at least four years before the enactment of the original DREAM Act, graduated from high school, have no serious convictions, and pass a background check.
Dreamers would be eligible for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status if they complete two years at a U.S. higher education institution, serve two years in the military, or be steadily employed.
Dreamers would gain access to federal financial aid and professional, commercial and business licenses.
TPS or DED would be granted, and removal proceedings cancelled, if an individual was in the U.S. for three years before the Act’s enactment and had been eligible for TPS or DED status as of September 2016.
When TPS is terminated, the bill requires a detailed report to be issued describing the qualitative and quantitative methods used to determine if the conditions of the recipient’s home country have improved.
Muslim Ban Repeal – Note: This will be a SEPARATE BILL, to fully repeal Trump’s Muslim and asylum bans.