Pass the Dream Act Without Amendment

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 -- The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights issued the following advocacy letter to Member of Congress:

Dear Member of Congress:

On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the undersigned 184 national, state, and local organizations, we urge you to immediately pass the Dream Act without amendment.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program provided a measure of common sense and compassion to immigrants who were brought to this country as children and who have grown up here. Approximately 800,000 young adults who grew up in this country have registered with the federal government, submitted to background checks, paid fees, and have worked to obtain an education. In return, they were given a reprieve from the threat of deportation, work authorization, and the ability to make valuable contributions to our communities. They have gone on to raise families of their own, volunteered to serve in our military, started their own businesses, and become integral to our communities.

President Trump's decision to end DACA does a grave injustice to hundreds of thousands of young immigrants. His decision is even more tragic because it was unnecessary. While the President has manufactured this crisis, the responsibility to fix it now falls to Congress.

The President has repeatedly tried to divide this nation, but we urge you to show real leadership. We need more than rhetoric. We need action. These vulnerable young people should not be used as bargaining chips or hostages by those who want to exploit President Trump's cruel decision.

We stand united in calling on you to immediately pass the Dream Act without amendment so that young people who were brought to this country when they were children are protected. We call on you to treat this with the urgency you would if it were your own son's or daughter's life at stake.

Sincerely,

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

9to5, National Association of Working Women

ACLU of NM

AFL-CIO

AFSCME

Advocates for Youth

Alliance for Justice

Alliance San Diego

America's Voice

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

American Association of University Women (AAUW)

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

American Federation of Teachers

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

The Arc of the United States

Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum

Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC

Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA)

Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO)

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Bend the Arc Jewish Action

Black Women's Health Imperative

Black Women's Roundtable

Black Youth Vote

Bread for the World

Callen-Lorde Community Health Center

CANDLE Rockland

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

Center for Reproductive Rights

Center for Responsible Lending

Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, California State University San Bernardino

CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers

Church World Service

Communications Workers of America

Constitutional Accountability Center

Council for Global Equality

Council on American-Islamic Relations San Diego

Defending Rights & Dissent

Demos

Divine Word Missionaries

Earthjustice

Economic Policy Institute Policy Center

Education Law Center-PA

El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos

Employee Rights Center (ERC)

Equal Justice Society

Equality California

Equality New Mexico

Espacio Migrante

Every Child Matters

Family Equality Council

Feminist Majority Foundation

Forum for Youth Investment

Forward Together

Franciscan Action Network

Futures Without Violence

Gender Spectrum

GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality

Global Justice Institute

GLSEN

Harm Reduction Coalition

Hawai'i Institute for Human Rights

Hindu American Foundation

Hip Hop Caucus

Hispanic Federation

Hispanic Health Network

Hope Border Institute

Human Rights Advocates

Human Rights Campaign

Human Rights Watch

Identity Youth Center

Immigrant Legal Resource Center

Interfaith Worker Justice

Japanese American Citizens League

Justice Overcoming Boundaries in San Diego County

Lambda Legal

Laotian American National Alliance

Las Cruces CIVIC (Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement)

Las Vegas (NM) Peace and Justice Center

Latino Commission on AIDS

LatinoJustice PRLDEF

Latinos in the Deep South

Leadership Conference of Women Religious

League of United Latin American Citizens

League of Women Voters of the United States

Legal Aid at work

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (NYC)

LGBT Technology Partnership & Institute

The LOFT LGBT Community Center

Los Angeles LGBT Center

MALDEF

Matthew Shepard Foundation

Metropolitan Community Churches

MPower Change

Muslim Advocates

Muslim Public Affairs Council

NAACP

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

NAPAFASA

NARAL Pro-Choice America

NEAT - National Equality Action Team

National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF)

National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

National Bar Association

National Center for Law and Economic Justice

National Center for Lesbian Rights

National Center for Transgender Equality

National Center for Youth Law

National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD)

National Coalition for LGBT Health

National Coalition on Black Civic Participation

National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA)

National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physicians

National Council of Churches

National Council of Jewish Women

National Education Association

National Employment Law Project

National Fair Housing Alliance

National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA)

National Health Law Program

National Immigrant Justice Center

National Institute for Reproductive Health

National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)

National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty

National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund

National Network of Abortion Funds

National Organization for Women

National Partnership for Women & Families

National Urban League

National Women's Law Center

NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice

New Florida Majority

New Mexico Voices for Children

New York City Anti-Violence Project

NM Comunidades en Accion y de Fe (CAFe)

North County Immigration Task Force

OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates

Oxfam America

People For the American Way

Physicians for Reproductive Health

Pilgrim United Church of Christ, Carlsbad CA

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson

PolicyLink

PPSFL - Out for Health

Presbyterian Feminist Agenda Network

Pride Center of Staten Island, Inc.

Pride for Youth/Long Island Crisis Center

Public Advocates, Inc.

Public Citizen

Queens Center For Gay Seniors

Raising Women's Voices for the Health Care We Need

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

The San Diego LGBT Community Center

SEIU

Self-Help Credit Union

Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States

Sikh American Legal , Defense and Education Fund.

South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)

Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)

Southern Border Communities Coalition

Southern California Immigration Project

Southern Poverty Law Center

T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights

UnidosUS (Formerly National Council of La Raza)

Union del Barrio, Los Angeles

Union for Reform Judaism

UNITE HERE Local 30

The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society

URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity

US Human Rights Network

Voices for Progress

The Voter Participation Center

Voting Rights Forward

Voto Latino

Whitman-Walker Health

Women's Business Development Center

Women's Intercultural Network (WIN)

Women's League for Conservative Judaism

Women's Voices.Women Vote Action Fund

Woodbury Fund

Woodhull Freedom Foundation

World Without Genocide

YWCA USA