The lives of more than 17,000 young people have been changed by DACA in Colorado. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which started in 2012, opened up opportunities for thousands of young immigrants by allowing some who came to the U.S. as children to get temporary work permits and protection from deportation. According to the Center for American Progress, DACA recipients contribute more than $59 million in state and local taxes and $113 million in federal taxes.
DACA recipients are currently working as teachers, at nonprofits, in city government, law offices, and so many other important fields. More than 4,300 DACA recipients in Colorado are in occupations at the frontlines of COVID-19. DACA not only provides opportunities to follow their career goals, own homes and cars, and get better paying jobs, it also allows immigrant youth to experience some safety, to step out of the shadows and dream.
DACA is currently under threat. Any day now, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle DACA is permissible, deciding the fate of DACA and the future of Dreamers, who have been able to thrive under these protections for the past eight years. This looming court decision weighs heavily on our minds and hearts, all while our lives and livelihoods are being threatened by a global health crisis. But even if DACA is upheld, it provides no pathway to U.S. citizenship. It is a permanent limbo, and a real solution is needed.
Urgent action is needed from Congress, now. Sign this petition and tell CO Senator Cory Gardner and Senator Michael Bennet to advance the “Dream and Promise Act,” which will provide permanent protection for Dreamers. Let them know that their constituents expect them to act to protect Dreamers!
Dreamers Rise is a Dreamer-led campaign under Voces Unidas to advocate for long-term policy solutions in support of Dreamers.