There are no stories that bring home the hope and optimism of immigration reform more than the stories of “Dreamers.” They are productive members of society, brought here as young children, who grew up in our communities and became American in every way but on paper. And yet, for most of their lives, they’ve had to live in the shadows, barred from giving the full benefit of their talents to the country they love and our economy. For the first time last year, they found some relief through the Obama Administration’s deferred action process, but the only way to give Dreamers the peace of mind they need to live productive lives is to fix our broken immigration system through common sense reform.
Unfortunately, a Republican amendment to a spending bill passed by the House yesterday moved in the opposite direction, seeking to strip Dreamers of the protections of the deferred action process. As Press Secretary Jay Carney said afterwards, “It asks law enforcement to treat these Dreamers the same way as they would violent criminals. It’s wrong. It’s not who we are. And it will not become law.” The President remains optimistic about getting reform done, but for those in Congress who need a reminder of why we should encourage Dreamers, and why we should fix our broken immigration system, they should listen to Diana Colon, who met with the President and Vice President in the Oval Office last month along with several other Dreamers:
“All we want to have is that opportunity to fully give back to this country” –that was Diana’s message to the President, and to the rest of America. Unfortunately, House Republicans sent a very different message back to Dreamers across this country:
Fonte: White House