Following the Trump administration’s announcement on Tuesday that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would be discontinued, a move that creates an uncertain future for young immigrants, U.S. Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Rob Portman (R-OH) urged Congress to craft a legislative replacement for the program.
The DACA program was implemented by President Barack Obama through executive order to grant temporary legal status to those who entered the country illegally as children.
Gardner, Hatch and Portman support finding a bipartisan and permanent solution that will allow people in the DACA program to continue contributing to society. Congress will have six months to draft legislation that provides an alternative to DACA before the Trump administration phases out the program.
“Children who came to this country without documentation, through no fault of their own, must have the opportunity to remain here lawfully,” Gardner said.
Gardner is a cosponsor of the Dream Act of 2017, S. 1615, along with his Democratic colleague from Colorado Michael Bennet. That bill would extend conditional permanent residency and a path to earned citizenship to those young immigrants, known as dreamers, who arrived in the United States before turning 18 and meet specific criteria.
With a goal of providing certainty to thousands of law-abiding Colorado dreamers, Gardner said passing the Dream Act is an important step.
“I have long supported legislation that makes clear what we already know: supporting Dreamers boosts our economy, strengthens our national security, and aligns with our values,” Gardner said.
To qualify for legal status under the Dream Act, participants would have to hold a high school diploma or equivalent, have pursued higher education, and worked lawfully for three years or served in the military. They would also have to pass a security check and speak English proficiently.
Hatch, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he urged the president not to rescind DACA in a phone call last week because he believed it would put those brought to the country as children “in an extremely difficult situation.”
“I agree with the president — we need tougher enforcement of our immigration laws, but we also need a real, permanent solution that recognizes the positive impact dreamers have in our communities,” Hatch said. “And as I said last week, that solution must come from Congress.”
Portman agreed that a bipartisan legislative solution to the DACA issue is necessary.
“I agree that Congress should act rather than continue the Obama administration’s unconstitutional executive action,” Portman said.
“I believe we can and should respect the rule of law while also dealing with this issue in a humane and compassionate way, and that’s the approach I believe the administration and members of both parties in Congress should take as we look at legislative solutions on this issue,” Portman added.
Congress has an opportunity to find bipartisan solutions on a number of issues, Hatch said, including border security, high-skilled immigration, as well as a path forward for the dreamer population.