186 Civil and Human Rights Groups Urge Congress to Immediately Pass the Dream Act

WASHINGTON – Today, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights along with 185 civil and human rights groups sent a letter to Congress to urge lawmakers to immediately pass the Dream Act without amendment.

“President Trump’s cruel and inhumane decision to end DACA must not stand,” said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference. “Countless members of Congress, from both sides of the aisle, have spoken against this shameful action. Lawmakers need to put action behind their words. Congress must immediately pass the Dream Act without any partisan, divisive amendments. This is not just an immigration issue – it is about the values of fairness and inclusion that we uphold as a nation. We are proud to stand with this diverse, broad collective in support of the Dreamers.”

The letter states in part:

“President Trump’s decision to end DACA does a grave injustice to hundreds of thousands of young immigrants. His decision is even more tragic because it was unnecessary. While the President has manufactured this crisis, the responsibility to fix it now falls to Congress.

The President has repeatedly tried to divide this nation, but we urge you to show real leadership. We need more than rhetoric. We need action. These vulnerable young people should not be used as bargaining chips or hostages by those who want to exploit President Trump’s cruel decision.

We stand united in calling on you to immediately pass the Dream Act without amendment so that young people who were brought to this country when they were children are protected. We call on you to treat this with the urgency you would if it were your own son’s or daughter’s life at stake.”

The full text of the letter is below, and it is available here.

September 7, 2017

PASS THE DREAM ACT WITHOUT AMENDMENT

Dear Member of Congress:

On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the undersigned 184 national, state, and local organizations, we urge you to immediately pass the Dream Act without amendment.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program provided a measure of common sense and compassion to immigrants who were brought to this country as children and who have grown up here. Approximately 800,000 young adults who grew up in this country have registered with the federal government, submitted to background checks, paid fees, and have worked to obtain an education. In return, they were given a reprieve from the threat of deportation, work authorization, and the ability to make valuable contributions to our communities. They have gone on to raise families of their own, volunteered to serve in our military, started their own businesses, and become integral to our communities.

President Trump’s decision to end DACA does a grave injustice to hundreds of thousands of young immigrants. His decision is even more tragic because it was unnecessary. While the President has manufactured this crisis, the responsibility to fix it now falls to Congress.

The President has repeatedly tried to divide this nation, but we urge you to show real leadership. We need more than rhetoric. We need action. These vulnerable young people should not be used as bargaining chips or hostages by those who want to exploit President Trump’s cruel decision.

We stand united in calling on you to immediately pass the Dream Act without amendment so that young people who were brought to this country when they were children are protected. We call on you to treat this with the urgency you would if it were your own son’s or daughter’s life at stake.

Sincerely,

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
9to5, National Association of Working Women
ACLU of NM
AFL-CIO
AFSCME
Advocates for Youth
Alliance for Justice
Alliance San Diego
America’s Voice
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
American Federation of Teachers
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
The Arc of the United States
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA)
Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO)
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Bend the Arc Jewish Action
Black Women’s Health Imperative
Black Women’s Roundtable
Black Youth Vote
Bread for the World
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center
CANDLE Rockland
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Responsible Lending
Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, California State University San Bernardino
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers
Church World Service
Communications Workers of America
Constitutional Accountability Center
Council for Global Equality
Council on American-Islamic Relations San Diego
Defending Rights & Dissent
Demos
Divine Word Missionaries
Earthjustice
Economic Policy Institute Policy Center
Education Law Center-PA
El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos
Employee Rights Center (ERC)
Equal Justice Society
Equality California
Equality New Mexico
Espacio Migrante
Every Child Matters
Family Equality Council
Feminist Majority Foundation
Forum for Youth Investment
Forward Together
Franciscan Action Network
Futures Without Violence
Gender Spectrum
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality
Global Justice Institute
GLSEN
Harm Reduction Coalition
Hawai’i Institute for Human Rights
Hindu American Foundation
Hip Hop Caucus
Hispanic Federation
Hispanic Health Network
Hope Border Institute
Human Rights Advocates
Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Watch
Identity Youth Center
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Interfaith Worker Justice
Japanese American Citizens League
Justice Overcoming Boundaries in San Diego County
Lambda Legal
Laotian American National Alliance
Las Cruces CIVIC (Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement)
Las Vegas (NM) Peace and Justice Center
Latino Commission on AIDS
LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Latinos in the Deep South
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
League of United Latin American Citizens
League of Women Voters of the United States
Legal Aid at work
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (NYC)
LGBT Technology Partnership & Institute
The LOFT LGBT Community Center
Los Angeles LGBT Center
MALDEF
Matthew Shepard Foundation
Metropolitan Community Churches
MPower Change
Muslim Advocates
Muslim Public Affairs Council
NAACP
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
NAPAFASA
NARAL Pro-Choice America
NEAT – National Equality Action Team
National Action Network
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF)
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
National Bar Association
National Center for Law and Economic Justice
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Center for Youth Law
National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD)
National Coalition for LGBT Health
National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA)
National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physicians
National Council of Churches
National Council of Jewish Women
National Education Association
National Employment Law Project
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA)
National Health Law Program
National Immigrant Justice Center
National Institute for Reproductive Health
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
National Network of Abortion Funds
National Organization for Women
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Urban League
National Women’s Law Center
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New Florida Majority
New Mexico Voices for Children
New York City Anti-Violence Project
NM Comunidades en Accion y de Fe (CAFe)
North County Immigration Task Force
OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates
Oxfam America
People For the American Way
Physicians for Reproductive Health
Pilgrim United Church of Christ, Carlsbad CA
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson
PolicyLink
PPSFL – Out for Health
Presbyterian Feminist Agenda Network
Pride Center of Staten Island, Inc.
Pride for Youth/Long Island Crisis Center
Public Advocates, Inc.
Public Citizen
Queens Center For Gay Seniors
Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
The San Diego LGBT Community Center
SEIU
Self-Help Credit Union
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States
Sikh American Legal, Defense and Education Fund.
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
Southern Border Communities Coalition
Southern California Immigration Project
Southern Poverty Law Center
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
UnidosUS (Formerly National Council of La Raza)
Union del Barrio, Los Angeles
Union for Reform Judaism
UNITE HERE Local 30
The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society
URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity
US Human Rights Network
Voices for Progress
The Voter Participation Center
Voting Rights Forward
Voto Latino
Whitman-Walker Health
Women’s Business Development Center
Women’s Intercultural Network (WIN)
Women’s League for Conservative Judaism
Women’s Voices.Women Vote Action Fund
Woodbury Fund
Woodhull Freedom Foundation
World Without Genocide
YWCA USA

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.