Today, Rep. Pete Aguilar issued the following statement calling on Congressional Republicans to allow for a vote on the Dream Act, bipartisan legislation that would establish a pathway to citizenship for thousands of young immigrants, known as Dreamers, who came to the United States as children:

“Dreamers have earned their place here in the only country they’ve ever known as home, but by dismantling DACA, the president has put their futures at risk.  By refusing to take action to protect Dreamers, Congress is allowing hundreds of thousands of young people to live in constant fear that the lives they’ve built here could suddenly be destroyed. Passing the Dream Act would simply codify what we already know to be true: that Dreamers are Americans. GOP leadership must allow us to vote on a clean Dream Act immediately, because these thousands of young people cannot wait any longer.”

Rep. Aguilar serves as Whip of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and has been vocally opposed to President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. He is an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Dream Act of 2017.