LAREDO, Texas (Nov. 29, 2017) – The Texas Border Coalition (TBC) today called on President Trump and Congress to swiftly pass the Dream Act or similar legislation that would protect 800,000 young immigrants, known as “Dreamers,” from deportation.

“U.S. taxpayers have helped educate Dreamers from elementary through high school, giving all Americans a vested interest in their success in the workforce of tomorrow,” Laredo Mayor and TBC Chairman Pete Saenz said. “Dreamers know no other country as their home other than the U.S. and should be able to live without fear of deportation as long as they have not committed crimes.

With the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, there is pressure on Congress to pass federal legislation to protect Dreamers who are at risk of deportation.

The purpose of DACA is to provide a safe harbor to eligible youth, and a work permit, renewable every two years. DACA recipients have passed background checks and received permission to live and work in the nation where they were raised as Americans.

Researchers at the conservative Cato Institute and liberal Center for American Progress estimate that ending the DACA program would reduce the size of the American economy by $433 billion over the next 10 years.

Currently, thousands of DACA recipients reside in the Texas border region. More than 800 DACA recipients are now serving in the U.S. armed forces.

President Trump and bipartisan leaders in Congress have pledged to enact the Dream Act or similar legislation to make DACA recipients eligible for permanent legal immigrant status and provide them with a stable basis to advance themselves as members of American society.

“Fulfillment of the promise of the Dream Act is essential to the ability of DACA youth in the Texas border region to work, study, raise families and reach their full potential,” Saenz said.

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