WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — In a letter, the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is calling on Congress to act quickly to provide permanent protection and a path to citizenship for all Dreamers who have lived in America since they were children and are building their lives here in the United States, the only country many of them have ever known. Following a recent Texas U.S. District Court decision that struck down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, mayors have pledged to work with Congress to quickly advance action that ensures that all Dreamers are protected from deportation and have a path to citizenship.
The letter, which was sent to the full congressional leadership, was signed by a bipartisan group of 179 mayors. It reads in part:
“…it is even more urgent than ever that Congress act quickly to provide permanent protection from deportation and a path to citizenship for all Dreamers – people who have lived in America since they were children and built their lives here.
“As Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, we write on behalf of all the nation’s mayors to urge you to take whatever action is necessary and possible immediately to accomplish this. We pledge to work with you in this effort to help you make this happen.
“The United States Conference of Mayors has had strong policy supporting a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and extension of the DACA program for many years. Our bipartisan organization has adopted this policy because it is the right thing to do – for Dreamers, for our communities, and for our country.
“The cultural, economic, and social contributions of the more than 800,000 DACA recipients and their families to our cities cannot be overstated; particularly during a global pandemic where over 200,000 DACA recipients are working in essential roles, including 27,000 in health care positions. Each year, DACA recipients and their households pay $5.6 billion in federal taxes and $3.1 billion in state and local taxes on top of their payroll tax contributions to Social Security and Medicare. After taxes, DACA recipients and their households have a combined $24 billion in spending power to put back into their communities.
“The time for Congress to act is now and America’s mayors stand ready to work with you to provide a path to citizenship for all Dreamers.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.
About the United States Conference of Mayors — The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
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SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors
