Americans in Every Sense: Doggett Urges Passage of Landmark Dream and Promise Act
***Press Release***
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 4, 2019 | Contact: Kate Stotesbery 202-225-4865 |
Americans in Every Sense: Doggett Urges Passage of Landmark Dream and Promise Act
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives, urging passage of H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act, of which he is a sponsor. This landmark legislation would finally create a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients. The House of Representatives just passed the legislation following debate.
Noting all the Dreamers he has visited with, and who have been interns in his congressional office, he stated that they "are contributing to our communities and America is stronger for their presence. They're Americans in every sense—except for the documents that allow them to fully participate." As he urged his colleagues to pass the bill, Rep. Doggett noted: "If protection for our Dreamers is terminated, all of us will lose…Let's provide our Dreamers the certainty to a clear path to citizenship. Let's recognize them as the full-fledged Americans that they certainly are."
You can watch his speech here or read below.
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett
May 1, 2019
House Floor Speech
"Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated, and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really! They've been in our country for many years through no fault of their own—brought in by parents at young age."
Those were the words of a President Trump tweet on September 14, 2017. But unfortunately, Donald Trump is a man of his last tweet. Later, when a bipartisan group of senators went to meet with the President and present a viable bipartisan plan, he flew into a racist rant and refused to act. Only because of federal court orders consistently rejecting the Trump Administration arguments do our Dreamers have any protection today.
I have visited personally with these young people. A nurse, a teacher, a county prosecutor, a key person in a small business, many students, they are contributing to our communities and America is stronger for their presence. They're Americans in every sense except for the documents that allow them to fully participate.
If protection for our Dreamers is terminated, all of us will lose. A coalition of Texas businesses has estimated that Texas alone will lose 6 billion dollars in economic activity every year. Let's provide our Dreamers the certainty to a clear path to citizenship. Let's recognize them as the full-fledged Americans that they certainly are.
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