“We partnered with the North Texas Dream Team for this action in an effort to bring attention to the need for lasting protections for Dreamers, but not at the expense of TPS [Temporary Protected Status] recipients, undocumented parents and immigrants who currently have no relief,” says DSA North Texas co-chair Kristian Hernandez. She's also vice-president of the NTDT.
The Dream Act is a proposed adjustment to and expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows children of immigrants without citizenship to apply for temporary authorization to stay in the U.S. for work and/or school.
The Dream Act’s biggest changes to DACA are to give Dreamers conditional permanent resident status, open up a pathway to lawful permanent resident status (green card) and, ultimately, create a clear path to full U.S. citizenship for Dreamers.
Recently, Trump proposed a comprise wherein $25 billion will be allocated for a border wall and harsher immigration policies in exchange for the protection of an estimated 1.8 million immigrants living in the country illegally and the chance for them to gain citizenship. The bipartisan proposal has met with staunch opposition from many Democrats who feel the deal is a thinly veiled attempt to “make America white again.”
"The White House is using Dreamers to mask their underlying xenophobic, isolationist, and un-American policies, which will harm millions of immigrants living in the United States and millions of others who want to legally immigrate and contribute to our country," U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said in a statement.The North Texas Dream Team and Democratic Socialists of America are pushing for a "clean" Dream Act, one that is not bundled with concessions that will put other immigrants at risk.
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Hernandez describes DSA as an activist organization that seeks a government that will disperse economic and political power. NTDT is a youth-led immigration organization that’s been active since 2012. It hosts DACA renewal workshops, which help people to renew their applications, and fights for longer-lasting protections for Texas Dreamers.
“The display was our way of highlighting the issue in a way that caught people's attention and generated enough curiosity for those who aren't aware of what the DREAM Act is,” Hernandez says.
Hernandez, the NTDT and the DSA are pushing for a “clean” Dream Act, one that is not bundled with concessions that could put other immigrants at risk.
“We say clean DREAM Act because we acknowledge that not everyone will be helped by this legislation," Hernandez says. "We want legislation that does not come with increased border enforcement, that does not invest in drone technology for the border and that does not contribute to the private prison complex that continues to profit off our loved ones."
To that end, Hernandez says she and his organizations will be staying busy with DACA renewal workshops across North Texas.
To find out more, visit North Texas Dream Team’s website.