American Dream and Promise Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I'm proud to support H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act to ensure that millions of young Americans can remain in the only country they've ever known and loved.

The bill provides a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, young people who came to the U.S. as children without legal status. It provides conditional legal status for ten years to those with a high school diploma or equivalent credential, and they must pay a fee and pass a background check. They can also earn permanent legal status if they attend college, work lawfully, or serve in the military.

I supported President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program which provided temporary legal status and work permits to over 650,000 young people, but only Congress can provide permanent legal status and a pathway to citizenship through statute. After putting their faith in the government when they registered for DACA and enduring the Trump Administration's three-year legal battle to end this program, these young people deserve the certainty of a permanent solution.

The American Dream and Promise Act also provides permanent legal status to recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), programs that provide temporary legal status to immigrants from countries experiencing war, natural disasters, or other ongoing crises.

Many of the individuals I've described are longtime U.S. residents who contribute to their communities and our economy and are Americans in all but name. Our legislation provides them with an earned pathway to citizenship so they can be legally recognized as full members of society and no longer live in fear of deportation. They deserve this, and I urge all Members to support the American Dream and Promise Act.

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