American Dream and Promise Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. CLARKE of New York. Madam Speaker, to Speaker Pelosi, Chair Nadler, and Chair Lofgren, my colleagues Representative Roybal-Allard, Representative Velazquez, Representative Jayapal, and Representative Chu, their leadership has been tremendous in bringing forth H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act.

2.5 million, this is how many of our neighbors, our friends, and our family members will be able to officially call themselves American citizens because of the Dream and Promise Act as they obtain legal permanent residency on the pathway to citizenship.

I am proud to sponsor H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act, which provides 2.5 million Dreamers, persons with temporary protected status, and deferred enforcement departure recipients with a pathway to citizenship--2.5 million people who already call America home and are mightily contributing to our society.

As chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Immigration Task Force and as a second-generation American myself, it is my passion and my duty to stand up for immigrants.

From rural America to urban America, like in my district in Brooklyn, New York, immigrants are part of all of our communities. Immigrants own, operate, and shop at our corner shops and bodegas; immigrants cheer on their kids at neighborhood soccer games; and immigrants worship with us at our places of worship. Simply put, immigrants are woven into the fabric of our society.

The Dream and Promise Act is commonsense immigration policy, commonsense immigration policy that recognizes today's immigrant dilemmas--Dreamers and TPS and DED recipients who are contributing to our communities and are part of our blended status families--and provides them with a long, overdue pathway to citizenship.

In New York City alone, where my district is located, more than 109,000 people are eligible for the Dream and Promise Act. That number balloons to more than 180,000 people when you take into account the entire State of New York. These immigrants are not only a part of our social fabric, but they directly boost our economy.

I look around in this Chamber and I would be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn't been positively impacted, directly or indirectly, by the multitude of ways that these immigrants have added value to our communities.

For example, in my home State of New York, immigrants eligible for the Dream and Promise Act own 9,500 homes and pay $228,300,000 each year in mortgage payments. These same immigrants contribute more than $1.6 billion each year in Federal taxes and more.

Having said that, Madam Speaker, I am proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with my colleagues. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

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