Issue Position: DREAM Act

Issue Position

The country took a major step forward when President Obama announced a policy to halt the deportation of young undocumented immigrants up to age 30 and allow them the chance to work. Our immigration enforcement should prioritize real threats, not the deportation of hard-working young men and women who have been in the U.S. since childhood.

However, while halting deportations and granting work permits offer critical short-term relief for many young-people, we need long-term solutions like the DREAM Act, which would allow young undocumented individuals to join the military or go to college and have a path to citizenship. Young immigrants, many of whom who know no other home and have no recollection of the parent's native country, ought to be able to pursue the American dream. Our country is at its best when its sticks to core founding principles -- equality, fairness, opportunity for all.

I am happy that, in the meantime, President Obama has implemented Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This program offers a reprieve from deportation, and work authorization, to many young immigrants who meet certain requirements that parallel the letter and spirit of the DREAM Act.

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