Last week, CCC joined more than 320 child and youth advocacy organizations in a letter to Congress expressing our support for the bipartisan Dream Act of 2017. The bill would provide lawful status and a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth and young adults who came to the United States as children, including recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The letter urges Congress to take immediate action to pass a clean Dream Act following President Trump’s decision to terminate DACA. As a result, more than 800,000 Dreamers who have been able to access work authorization and protection from deportation are once again facing an uncertain future.

As an organization concerned with ensuring all of New York City’s children have the opportunity to grow up healthy, housed, educated, and safe, we recognize that rescinding DACA will have immediate, severe consequences for recipients and their families. Recipients will lose their work authorization and once again be at risk for deportation, threatening their safety, economic security, and mental health—as well as that of their families. An estimated 25 percent of DACA recipients are parents to U.S. citizen children. The decision also means that more than 200,000 Dreamers under age 15 who were waiting to age into DACA no longer have the opportunity to apply.

More than 42,500 DACA recipients reside in New York They are our students, neighbors, coworkers, and community members. The bipartisan Dream Act is common-sense legislation that will provide a permanent solution for these and many more young Dreamers, ensuring their wellbeing and future success as well as the success of our city and state. We join advocates from around the country to urge Congress to immediately pass the Dream Act.