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For Immediate Release

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UWD Staff

Immigrant Youth Celebrate the Dream & Promise Act as a Testament to our Power and Resilience

Contact: José Alonso Muñoz | jose@unitedwedream.org | 202.810.0746

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, the House introduced the Dream and Promise Act, a bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship to over three million undocumented immigrant youth and TPS holders. The vast majority of the American people deeply support a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth. The House also introduced the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, a bill that would provide a roadmap to citizenship and protection from deportation to over one million undocumented farm workers and their immediate families. 

Passing the Dream & Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act is a first step towards making this a reality and delivering citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. 

Greisa Martinez Rosas, Executive Director of United We Dream, said:

“We celebrate the introduction of the Dream & Promise Act as a direct testament to the power and resilience of our communities, and the members of UWD who have organized day-in and day-out for meaningful legislation that protects immigrants without harmful enforcement tradeoffs. For the last 30 years, undocumented immigrants have been subjected to some of the most heinous abuses and barred from accessing basic services because of our status. Our youth-led, multi-racial movement has refused to buckle under the weight of these attacks, remaining headstrong in our fight to deliver permanent protections for all 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. 

Passage of the Dream & Promise Act, along with the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, would be a critical first step towards citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants. The Dream & Promise Act  is one of the most expansive policies to provide permanent solutions for millions of immigrant youth and TPS holders and includes much-needed improvements to expand eligibility. We also express our disappointment in the unchanged criminal barriers in this bill which would exclude some Black and brown immigrants profiled by racist policing. 

Our movement delivered a clear political mandate – Democrats in the House and the Senate must see to it that the Dream & Promise Act is passed without delay and without tradeoffs that would provide resources for ICE and CBP. Our communities deserve every single opportunity to obtain citizenship and relief now. At any moment, Judge Hanen in Texas could rule to terminate DACA, leaving hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth at risk of deportation. Now is the time to get it done. The House must vote to pass the Dream & Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act immediately!”

Idalia Quinteros, member of United We Dream, said: 

“I was a year off from qualifying for DACA after coming to the U.S. when I was 8-years-old. Without any form of protection, I have always felt a sense of anxiety and fear that I might be deported and separated from my loved ones. The Dream & Promise Act would be life changing for me and millions of young people who don’t qualify for protections from deportation under DACA. Under this bill, I would finally have the opportunity to apply to and take a decent paying job with a work permit, get a driver’s license, become more independent, qualify for more scholarships for college, and feel secure in my home. Congress must immediately pass the Dream & Promise Act for me and three million other undocumented people.”

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United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation; made up of a multi-racial and multi-ethnic network of 1.2 million members, over 100 local groups, and a reach of over 5 million per month. UWD’s vision is to push for just policies that allow everyone to thrive regardless of immigration status. United We Dream is fighting for a multi-racial democracy that works for everyone by building a movement of young people who organize and advocate for the dignity and justice of immigrants and communities of color. You can find more at www.unitedwedream.org.

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