Mayor Jim Kenney, DACA Recipients and Local Leaders Call on Sen. Toomey and Rep. Meehan to Pass the Dream Act

PHILADELPHIA – On a press call today, Mayor Jim Kenney joined local Dreamers and leaders to discuss why a legislative solution for Dreamers is so urgent for Pennsylvania and America, and to call on Representative Patrick Meehan (PA-07) and Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) to support the passage of a clean Dream Act before the end of the year. A recording of today’s call is available here.

If Congress can’t pass the Dream Act, then it must be included in the omnibus spending package. The omnibus will inevitably include funds for immigrant enforcement – if Dreamer legislation is not included – then it will be a vote to deport Dreamers.

Philadelphia, PA Mayor Jim Kenney, said, “Philadelphia knows firsthand how critical Dreamers are to local communities. As Mayor, I will continue to advocate for Dreamers because our families, communities, and economies need them. The stakes are too high – We must pass the Dream Act now to keep families together and keep our economy strong.”

Zion Dirgantara, Philadelphia DACA-recipient and MAVNI recruit, said, “In late 2014, the U.S. Army announced the MAVNI program – a recruitment program of DACA-recipients with special skills in exchange for U.S. citizenship. It was an easy decision for me to join and enlist. I have lived in the U.S. for more than half my life. I learned and understand American culture, and joining the U.S. military is a way for me to give back and serve the country that has given me a chance for a better future. In the military, we were taught to never abandon our fallen comrade. I still have faith and believe in the great American leadership to stand by our American values and to not abandon Dreamers. I am just as American as my neighbors, but I wasn’t born a citizen. Hopefully one day, I can proudly say that while I wasn’t born a U.S. citizen, I earned my citizenship.”

Rainy Leonor Lake, of Reading Pa, DACA-recipient and Leader of Juventud en Camino the Make The Road Pa youth committee, said, “My life as an undocumented student, as a DACA recipient, is not a bargaining chip for politicians to further their hate filled agendas. A clean Dream Act must consider all Pennsylvanians whose lives are at risk like our parents and our brothers and sisters who didn’t qualify for DACA. I represent them as we work together to bring them justice.”

Rev. Adan Mairena, West Kensington Ministry, a Presbyterian Church, said, “I believe, and people like me believe that, Dreamers represent not only the American dream, but a dream God has for people to work hard, prosper, succeed and contribute to the goodness of our commonwealth and especially to local communities. I, and many people of faith, call Senator Toomey and Representative Meehan to pass the Dream Act and prevent it from becoming a nightmare for those who have come to this country, often time fleeing economic hardship and life-ending and violent situations- as many of your and my ancestors did in the past- those who have made this their home and have reignited this “shared dream” of hard work, sacrifice, and contributing to the common good.”

Adanjesus Marin, of Allentown Pa, and Director, Make the Road Pennsylvania, said, “Passing a Clean Dream Act is the only way to ensure safety for the hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients both now and in the future. Our members are organizing tirelessly every single day to win a Clean Dream Act, and we applaud Mayor Kenney standing up, once again, for Justice.”

In Pennsylvania, there are nearly 6,000 DACA recipients whose futures and opportunities to fully contribute to their communities are threatened by President Trump’s decision to end the popular and successful DACA program. In Rep. Meehan’s districts alone, there are 2,700 DACA-eligible residents and 1,500 DACA-recipients, and the annual GDP loss from removing DACA workers would amount to over $93 million in the districts.

The Center for American Progress estimates that Pennsylvania has 18,000 Dream Act-eligible individuals in the workforce and would see annual state GDP gains of $230 million from passage of the Dream Act.

This call comes as 22,000 Dreamers will now lose DACA because of the arbitrary October 2017 deadline created by the Trump administration for some Dreamers to renew their status. Every day that passes, 122 Dreamers are losing their status and becoming at risk of deportation. That is 851 per week between October 5, 2017 and March 5, 2018.