Action – Call your senators! Push through the S.874 Dream Act to the president’s desk without another one of his poisonous deals.
We’re not going to talk about Judeo-Christian concepts of welcoming strangers. We’re not going to talk about the inherent cruelty of throwing people out of the only country they’ve ever known. Trump’s base remains immune to these arguments. Instead, we’re going to talk in language the GOP claims, against all evidence, to be proficient in, i.e.- the economy. While McConnell is distracted installing as many extremist judges in lifetime positions as he can, a factor of our future economy’s success is standing before a hostile SCOTUS.
The GOP’s donor class, major companies and conservative think tanks like the Cato Institute, are alarmed. Their pet legislators seems to have forgotten that rescinding DACA protections for almost 800,000 U.S.-educated, hardworking adults, will cause serious economic harm to America, including a loss of $460.3 billion from the nation GDP over the next decade. The 10 states that put DACA in court – Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina, and West Virginia—stand to suffer a self-inflicted loss of more than $8 billion annually in state GDP. More immediate concerns for businesses are 1.1 million jobs already going begging, from high tech to unskilled labor. This number is going to get larger as boomers age out of the labor pool. A harsh retirement is in store if there are not enough workers to diagnose their illnesses, fix their cars or change out sheets in their future nursing homes.
We at Indivisible Ventura have met many Dreamers through our volunteer work. These are bright, driven, well-educated, hardworking, and often multi-lingual young people, some of whom have even served in our military. They would be a prize for any country needing help driving their economies into the twenty first century. Why not us? These bills – the House H.R. 6 – American Dream and Promise Act and the Senate’s S.874 – Dream Act, give them what they need – a path to citizenship. (The bills are similar – differences are described in this great chart by nilc.org.)
- H.R. 6 – American Dream and Promise Act passed the House in June. Both Brownley and Carbajal were cosponsors.
- S.874 – Dream Act, introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham, is stuck in the Senate. Right now, there are only 5 cosponsors, which DON’T include either Feinstein or Harris.
Minimal script for your Democratic Senator: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Sen. [__] to cosponsor and support S.874 – Dream Act to protect our valuable long-term residents (DACA, TPS and DED) from racist and shortsighted deportation efforts and to provide them with citizenship. Do not allow this clearcut legislation get entangled with Trump’s boondoggle of a wall or his xenophobic, anti-American reductions in legal immigration.
Minimal script for your Republican Senator: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Sen. [__] to cosponsor and support S.874 – Dream Act to protect our valuable long-term residents (DACA, TPS and DED) from racist and shortsighted deportation efforts and to provide them with a path to citizenship. The Senator’s donors – big business and billionaires, have already warned Congress that immigrants’ energy and labor is necessary for America to thrive. Do not allow this clearcut legislation get entangled with Trump’s boondoggle of a wall or his xenophobic, anti-American reductions in legal immigration. Don’t be written into the history books as part of the Senate that causes the next recession.
Contact:
Senator Feinstein: email, DC (202) 224-3841, LA (310) 914-7300, SF (415) 393-0707, SD (619) 231-9712, Fresno (559) 485-7430
and Senator Harris: email, DC (202) 224-3553, LA (213) 894-5000, SAC (916) 448-2787, Fresno (559) 497-5109, SF (415) 355-9041, SD (619) 239-3884
Who is my representative/senator?: hq-salsa.wiredforchange.com
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 