The Dream and Promise Act Should Include Relief for All Immigrant Youth
Denying Some Youth Relief Does Not Represent ILRC’s Vision for Immigration Solutions
(Washington)—Today, the Dream and Promise Act (HR6) was introduced in Congress by Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) supports relief for all immigrant youth, including those who have had contact with the criminal legal system. Unfortunately, the bill introduced today continues to rely on criminal legal system contact to exclude some immigrant youth from gaining relief, despite how that system disproportionately targets Black communities and communities of color.
“The Dream and Promise Act addresses immigration relief for immigrant youth and individuals with temporary protected status (TPS) and deferred enforced departure (DED) and is part of an important conversation on solutions for members of our communities. However, the ILRC believes strongly that eligibility for immigration relief should not be linked to an individual’s contact with the criminal legal system,” said ILRC Policy Director Sameera Hafiz. “As our country has engaged in a more robust conversation about how the criminal legal system has been infected by white supremacy since its inception, our vision for immigration must reject any reliance on that system. We will continue to push policymakers to reimagine our immigration system to meet the needs of immigrant communities and reject proposals that criminalize individuals. As Congress continues to debate legislative solutions, the ILRC calls on the Biden Harris administration to immediately end all immigration enforcement, detention and deportations.”
The ILRC will continue advocating for the New Way Forward Act that would decriminalize immigration and address injustice and systemic racism in the U.S. immigration system. This bill rolls back harmful immigration laws that result in racial profiling and the disproportionate incarceration, deportation, and destruction of immigrant families and communities of color.
For more information on DACA, go to our website link here.
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The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is a national nonprofit that works with immigrants, community organizations, legal professionals, and policy makers to build a democratic society that values diversity and the rights of all people. Through community education programs, legal training & technical assistance, and policy development & advocacy, the ILRC works to protect and defend the fundamental rights of immigrant families and communities.