The number-two Democrat in the Senate joined with a high-profile member of the Republican caucus, among others, to launch a bill protecting more than a quarter of a million people who arrived in the U.S. as children of visa-holding foreign nationals.
Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., who co-authored the original, ultimately unsuccessful DREAM Act with the late Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, announced Monday that he and several lawmakers would lead the America’s CHILDREN Act to protect so-called Dreamers from deportation by the Trump administration.
The acronym formally stands for “America’s Cultivation of Hope and Inclusion for Long-term Dependents Raised and Educated Natively Act.”
Durbin was joined by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in the upper chamber, to support the newest iteration of legislation offering a “pathway to citizenship” for long-term U.S. residents who were dependents of migrant parents.
“Dreamers are some of the hardest working people I’ve met, and as American as all of us,” Durbin said in a statement.
“Their patriotism and dedication to our country inspires me, fuels our economy, and makes our nation stronger. Documented Dreamers are young people brought to the United States lawfully, but they face the risk of losing their status due to backlogs in our outdated immigration system.”
The Illinois Democrat, whose state has clashed with President Donald Trump over his mass deportation agenda, said the administration has made legal immigration “all but impossible” and that the bipartisan nature of the bill shows the American people demand solutions.
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Dreamers can remain a dependent of a migrant worker until they are 21, according to Rep. Deborah Ross, D-N.C., who described the intended beneficiaries of the American CHILDREN Act in a previous attempt to pass similar legislation.
“Sadly, due to decades-long backlogs and problems with the Child Status Protection Act, many of these young adults turn 21 before a visa number for a green card finally becomes available,” said Ross, who also co-sponsored the current bill.
Padilla, who was detained by federal agents when he disrupted a briefing by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in California earlier this year, said the people described in the bill are “Americans in every way except one – their parents’ green card is tied up in red tape.”
Paul, along with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Illinois — the two most prominent Republican co-sponsors — said Dreamers are contributing members of their communities and the U.S. economy.
“They shouldn’t be penalized by the government’s failures in addressing green card backlogs. The America’s Children Act provides targeted relief for these children of merit-based immigrants who are at risk of ‘aging out’ of their lawful immigration status, and I’m pleased to join Sen. Padilla in introducing this bill,” Paul said in a statement.
A handful of other Republicans signed onto the bill, including Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska – a frequent Trump critic – along with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, John Rutherford of Florida; Sens. John Curtis of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine.
