WASHINGTON — Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement on the ninth anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:
“As an immigrant who came to this country alone at the age of 16, went on to start the largest immigrant rights organization in Washington state, and stood up in the streets organizing for DACA and humane immigration reform for more than a decade before coming to Congress, I am proud to join the immigrant community in celebrating this important anniversary. DACA was forged — and has survived — through the resilient and relentless organizing of Dreamers and communities across the country. Let’s be clear today and always: Dreamers are American, Dreamers are home, Dreamers are us.
“DACA has been critical in providing temporary relief from deportation, but in many ways, the status of 11 million undocumented immigrants and their families is no more certain than it was in 2012. Congress has failed our communities time and time again, as Republicans have used DACA recipients as bargaining chips in the cynical effort to pass their anti-immigrant agenda. And after four years of trauma under the Trump administration, it is past time to pass a roadmap to citizenship.
“Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus understand that we have a clear path ahead, one that the vast majority of Americans support: pass a roadmap to citizenship through reconciliation to permanently protect DACA recipients, TPS and DED holders, farmworkers, and essential workers. It is time to go big and bold in the fight for immigrant justice.”
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The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is made up of nearly 100 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 advance civil liberties. The CPC champions progressive policy solutions like comprehensive immigration reform, good-paying jobs, fair trade, universal health care, debt-free college, climate action, and a just foreign policy. The caucus has been the leading voice calling for bold and sweeping solutions to the urgent crises facing this nation, including ending America’s broken for-profit health care system, raising the minimum wage, eliminating political corruption, bolstering labor protections for working families, and taking swift action to stop the warming of our planet.
