In 2001, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would create a process by which immigrants could apply for conditional residency that would lead to permanent residency based upon their age of entry into the United States. Despite numerous reintroductions in each Congress from 2001 to 2020, the DREAM Act has failed to pass.
In June 2012, President Obama established the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA) policy by executive action. DACA allowed undocumented immigrants
who arrived in the United States at a young age to become eligible for a
work permit, a Social Security card, a driver’s license, and deferred
deportation. The Trump administration
rescinded the policy
Sept. 5, 2017, but delayed ending it until March 5, 2018.
In granting a
six-month delay, President Trump asked Congress to pass legislation to
provide a permanent solution for those currently protected under DACA.
Congress has not yet acted, but DACA in the months since has been kept
alive by court decisions, leaving Dreamers in a political and legal
limbo. ACE advocates on behalf of the Dreamers, urging Congress to pass legislation to grant them permanent legal status and other protections.