"As we journey together through the time God has given us, may God give us the grace of a welcoming heart and an overflowing love for the new neighbors among us" –ELCA social message, "Immigration" (1997).

Background

Legislative Congressional action is critical to provide permanent legal protection to Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) holders who are living in a state of uncertainty about their ability to remain in the United States, the only home many have ever known. The ELCA has long called on members of Congress to pass legislation to protect DACA recipients, young people also known as Dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. as children. These young people are members of our congregations and our communities who enhance our national life with their presence and contributions.  Your action is needed today to stand beside them by supporting the Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (H.R. 6), that passed the House on June 4, 2019.

After the Trump Administration terminated the DACA program on September 5^th, 2017, life changed for those nearly 800,000 now young adults who have benefited from the program. Since first initiated on June 15, 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program, has kept families together and offered a newfound sense of hope and opportunity. The program has provided these young adults with not only protection from deportation but also unlocked other benefits such as their ability to get a driving license and work legally in this country.

Several lawsuits seeking an injunction have blocked the program’s termination, allowing current recipients to continue to renew their protections but cutting off new applications. With the Supreme Court debating the constitutionality of DACA and the rationality behind the Trump administration action to phase out the program since November 12^th of 2019, we need to speak up alongside young adults who are American in all but how they entered the country.

Presently, DACA temporarily protects those qualified to apply from deportation and provides them with work authorization. While there are over 1.5 million eligible for this program, many did not even apply for DACA due to the difficult set of criteria and standards set by the government, including high application fees. When President Trump announced the ending of the DACA program in 2017, many young adults, known as Dreamers, rightly feared what would happen next. Now, they are awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court and what this means for their future.

While the U.S. Supreme Court deliberates, it is vital that we encourage the Senate to act to legislatively  pass H.R. 6  which includes a path to citizenship. Urge your Senators to stand in support of young adult immigrants by supporting legislative protection for DACA recipients generally and the Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (H.R. 6) specifically.