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By Jennie L. Ilustre
Lawmakers, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), recently filed The Dream and Promise Act in the House of Representatives in the 116th U.S. Congress. Here’s an overview of the legislation, also known as H.R. 6 (House Resolution 6).
What is the Dream and Promise Act?
The legislation seeks to provide a path to lawful permanent status and eventually, citizenship for young undocumented immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, providing they meet certain criteria. It also applies to people with other types of temporary immigration protections, such as the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).
The bill was introduced on March 12 in the 116th U.S. Congress by Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-California). Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) are among the legislation’s co-authors, as well as Congresswomen Nydia Velazques and Yvette Clarke, both Democrats from New York.
What are the bill’s provisions?
The bill seeks to allow Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, and also Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure holders to apply for green cards and ultimately, citizenship. It also protects them from deportation, providing they meet certain criteria.
NBC reported that Congresswoman Roybal-Allard said the bill would provide legal permanent status to immigrants who were brought to the U.S. when they were 17 or younger and who are now employed, in higher education or in the military. It would also give current DACA recipients access to in-state college tuition, federal student aid and a path to citizenship.
What are TPS, DED and DACA?
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is granted to countries devastated by natural disasters or war. It allows citizens of these countries to remain in the U.S. until it is safe for them to return home. Currently, over 300,000 citizens from 10 countries are under TPS: El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The Trump administration recently announced it was ending certain TPS protections.
Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) is part of the U.S. President’s discretionary powers in conducting foreign relations. It does not confer a specific immigration status. But DED holders are not subject to removal from the U.S., usually for a designated period of time.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)was an Executive Order signed by President Obama in 2012. DACA recipients entered the U.S. without authorization when they were children or minors. There are about 825,000 DACA recipients, including 16,000 Asians.
The DACA program provides temporary relief from deportation. It grants a two-year renewable permit to qualified DACA recipients to work and study in the U.S. In 2017, President Trump ended the DACA program, saying Congress should pass legislation to fix the immigration problem on a long-term basis. Executive Orders are by nature temporary, because the President could terminate it at any time.
Legal challenges followed the DACA termination, with several federal courts ruling against its implementation. This led the Trump administration to go directly to the Supreme Court for a final decision. On January 23, the Supreme Court declined to take up the government’s appeal on DACA during this term. But it could include it in October in its docket next term. That is, unless the U.S. Congress passes legislation to protect DACA.
DREAM is the acronym for several previous bills called the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act. DACA recipients are also referred to as Dreamers. “The Dream Act of 2017” was filed by Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican from South Carolina, and supported by top Senate Democrats Minority Leader Charles Schumer (New York) and Dick J. Durbin (Illinois). The bill set certain requirements, including no felony convictions, payment of fines, and learning the language, among other things. The House of Representatives did not file a companion bill, so nothing came of it.
What are the DACA advocates saying about the bill?
The Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates are among the leading advocates of immigration reform. They have urged Congress to pass The Dream and Promise Act.
“OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates calls on Congress to pass the Dream and Promise Act, also known as H.R. 6…Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) families have been torn apart as a result of the Administration’s previous decisions to end the DACA program and certain TPS protections. These decisions could impact over 800,000 AAPI Dreamers and 100,000 Asian American and Pacific Islanders and Latinos affected TPS holders,” said Roland Hwang, OCA Vice President of Public Affairs. “Although H.R.6 does not provide further protections for family members of these groups, Congress has a chance to bring justice and take the first step towards fixing our broken immigration system by passing this bill.”
OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national organization of community advocates “dedicated to the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian American Pacific Islanders or AAPIs.”
Following are the highlights of the statement by John C. Yang, Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations: “Since the Trump Administration’s decision to end DACA and TPS protections, millions of community members’ lives were turned upside down.
“As a way to rectify the harms caused by the administration’s decision to end these programs, and as a way to protect members of vulnerable communities moving forward, we call on Congress to pass H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act. This permanent legislative solution is necessary to end the state of limbo that has faced over one million immigrants.
“There are challenges even within this bill that will still leave some immigrants vulnerable. H.R. 6 does not address family members of DREAM and TPS recipients, nor does it support many of those who have already been deported under the Trump Administration. Any legislation designed to protect our immigrant community needs to do so without any exceptions.”
Asian Americans Advancing Justice is “a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all.” The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice – AAJC (Washington, D.C.), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice – Chicago.
What are the chances of the bill’s passage in the 116th Congress?
Bing C. Branigin, officer of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FilVetREP), which helped to successfully lobby for the Congressional Gold Medal for Filipino and Filipino American World War II veterans, said it is a tough but not an impossible goal.
“But it will take time,” she said. “I am not 100% optimistic at this point, given the current politically divisive climate. It will surely pass in the House, but it does not stand a chance in the Senate.” The 116th Congress is a divided Congress. Democrats are the majority party in the House. Republicans hold the majority in the Senate.
Gregory A. Cendana is the former Executive Director of the AFL-CIO Asia Pacific Labor Alliance (APALA), and currently is the President and Co-Founder of Can’t Stop! Won’t Stop! Consulting. His experience as a labor rights and DACA advocate through the years has made him realistic, as well as optimistic about the bill’s chances in the long run.
Remarked Cendana: “Thanks to the leadership of Speaker Pelosi and co-authors Representatives Yvette Clarke, Lucille Roybal-Allard and Nydia Velázquez, the Dream and Promise Act, or H.R. 6, is the most inclusive bill of its kind providing protections and a path to citizenship Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) beneficiaries.”
He said he looked forward to the bill’s “swift passage in the House.” He added it is unlikely for the Senate to pass the legislation, and even less likely for it to be signed into law by the current president. Nevertheless, he pointed out: “It is important we urge our elected officials to sign on as co-sponsors and vote in favor of the legislation. Like many campaigns, we recognize that it will take time and with the long game in mind, we must use this political moment to get commitments now and continue to hold them accountable until it is passed.”
An Asian sage once said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Advancing Justice/AAJC said on the day the bill was filed: “Today’s announcement is a first step towards the full protection that we demand for our communities.”
Roland Hwang, OCA Vice President of Public Affairs, also pointed out: “Congress has a chance to bring justice and take the first step towards fixing our broken immigration system by passing this bill.”
