WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX) sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) urging him to consider targeted legislation that would offer permanent legal status specifically to active participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The question of whether to permanently enjoin the DACA program is currently pending before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
The Senators stated that the Judiciary Committee had recently “held a hearing to discuss the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 4.4 million illegal immigrants. As you knew when scheduling the hearing, there is no clear and politically viable path forward for such legislation in Congress.”
“We ask that you schedule a markup of a bill that only addresses the population with the most urgent need: active DACA recipients. In addition, Senators should be free to offer reasonable amendments to this bill through an open amendment process, and receive an up-or down vote on these amendments. We expect that such amendments would likely include proposals related to border security, interior enforcement and employment verification programs.”
Full text of the letter is here.
The Senators stated that the Judiciary Committee had recently “held a hearing to discuss the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 4.4 million illegal immigrants. As you knew when scheduling the hearing, there is no clear and politically viable path forward for such legislation in Congress.”
“We ask that you schedule a markup of a bill that only addresses the population with the most urgent need: active DACA recipients. In addition, Senators should be free to offer reasonable amendments to this bill through an open amendment process, and receive an up-or down vote on these amendments. We expect that such amendments would likely include proposals related to border security, interior enforcement and employment verification programs.”
Full text of the letter is here.
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