NLIRH Statement on the Bipartisan DREAM Act

Washington, D.C. — The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health welcomes the bipartisan leadership of Senators Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin as they re-introduce a new version of the DREAM Act. This legislative proposal comes at a time when immigrant families across the country are faced with an uncertain future, amid threats to the DACA program and mass deportation policies. Eliminating programs like DACA is an attempt to target and threaten immigrant families across all communities and does nothing to address our broken immigration system. Instead, they endanger the lives of undocumented immigrants – particularly immigrant women – while further limiting their ability to make decisions about their health, family and future.NLIRH calls upon congressional leaders to reject the politics of division and xenophobia, and instead seek policy solutions that uphold the values of dignity and justice for all families. The bipartisan DREAM Act of 2017 offers a pathway to transcend politics as usual and seek sensible solutions.

Ann Marie Benitez, senior director of government relations for NLIRH, issued the following statement:

“Anti-immigrant actors who oppose the DACA program are threatening  to end the program in the coming two months. The DACA program has provided relief from deportation and work authorization to about 800,000 youth, more than half of whom are women. For many years, in the absence of a comprehensive immigration reform plan, immigrant families have been subject to costly and unnecessary enforcement-only approaches that have had devastating impacts on real human lives. NLIRH welcomes the re-introduction of the DREAM act and urges members of Congress to pass it so that immigrant youth can continue fulfilling their potential as they continue to contribute and enrich communities across the country.  In the meantime, we must keep programs in place that provide protection for certain immigrants, like DACA and TPS, until a clean DREAM ACT is enacted and there is a lasting legislative solution that will protect all immigrants under threat in this country. Today is a reminder that immigration remains a national priority and that bold leadership is needed because the status quo is unacceptable and inhumane.”

For more information on NLIRH’s fight for health, dignity and justice, visit us at latinainstitute.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @NLIRH.

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The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health is the only national reproductive justice organization dedicated to building Latina power to advance health, dignity, and justice for 28 million Latinas, their families, and communities in the United States through leadership development, community mobilization, policy advocacy, and strategic communications.