Washington D.C. - In a new opinion piece published today in The Hill, 23 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus call for Speaker Paul Ryan to call a vote on a clean DREAM Act. The op-ed, “We Will Fight for Our DREAMers,” sends a very clear ultimatum to the House GOP and Speaker Ryan: if House Republicans intend to pass a budget resolution with bipartisan involvement, a clean DREAM Act must be passed first.
In the op-ed, Members affirm Americans’ overwhelming support for providing legal status to DREAMers by a margin of 4-to-1, which completely contradicts President Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric. The Members also outline their strategy to build a strong coalition of Democrats who will stake their votes on end of the year spending legislation to support the safety and security of all DREAMers.
“The hundreds of thousands of DREAMers who came forward to register with the government as part of the DACA program trusted the government to live up to its end of the bargain and we will fight to make sure the promise is kept,” Members wrote. “We believe that Speaker Ryan is proficient enough at math to understand that the path forward requires giving members of Congress the opportunity to pass the DREAM Act without harsh amendments that would diminish both the spirit of the bill and support for it.”
The following members of the CPC signed the op-ed: Representatives Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Keith Ellison (MN-05), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Lois Frankel (FL-21), Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Luis V. Gutiérrez (IL-04), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Wm. Lacy Clay (MO-01), Barbara Lee (CA-13), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Grace F. Napolitano (CA-32), Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), José E. Serrano (NY-15), & Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07).
The full op-ed is available here.
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The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is the largest caucus within the House Democratic Caucus, with over 70 members standing up for progressive ideals in Washington and throughout the country. Since 1991, the CPC has advocated for progressive policies that prioritize working Americans over corporate interests, fight economic and social inequality, and promote civil liberties. The CPC champions progressive policy solutions like comprehensive immigration reform, a $15 national minimum wage, fair trade, gun violence reform, debt-free college, and making the federal government a Model Employer.
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