Cohort of Six Florida Mayors Urge Congress to Enact Permanent Protection for Dreamers

29 NOV 2022

Mayors in Florida, including Mayor Poe of Gainesville, Mayor Davey of Key Biscayne, Mayor Cava of Miami Dade County, Mayor Ziade of North Lauderdale, Mayor Dyer of Orlando and Mayor Ortis of Pembroke Pines send letter to congressional leaders expressing urgency to protect Dreamers before the end of the year

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Cities for Action sent a bipartisan letter, signed by six Florida mayors, urging members of Congress to enact permanent protections for Dreamers during the lame duck session. Florida Mayors Lauren Poe, Michael W. Davey, Daniella Levine Cava, Ana M. Ziade, Buddy Dyer, and Frank C. Ortis signed onto the letter that includes over 70 mayors from California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. Florida is home to the third largest Dreamer population in the country and more than one third of Florida’s Dreamers are essential workers.

The recent Fifth Circuit Court ruling declaring the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program unlawful brings the courts one step closer to ending the program indefinitely. Since its inception, DACA has protected more than 830,000 young people from deportation, allowing them to work and contribute to our economy. The letter underscores how ending DACA would have a devastating impact on millions of people including DACA recipients, DACA-eligible individuals, their families, friends and communities across the United States. With the forthcoming termination of DACA, Congress has an opportunity to provide a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth this year. Large swaths of the American population support congressional action to provide permanent protections for Dreamers, including 65% of voters, business, faith and higher education leaders.

Excerpts from the letter read:

“We, leaders representing local governments around the country, are disappointed by the lack of Congressional action to pass fair and humane immigration reform and urge Congress to start by immediately enacting permanent protections for Dreamers, including DACA recipients.

[…]

Over the last decade, more than 830,000 of our family members, neighbors, and friends have been protected under DACA. During the COVID pandemic, 343,000 or more than three-quarters of DACA recipients in the workforce were employed in jobs deemed essential by the Department of Homeland Security. It is estimated that over 2.5 million U.S. citizens live with DACA-eligible people. Ending DACA would have a devastating impact on millions of people including DACA recipients, DACA-eligible individuals, their families, friends and communities across the country.

[…]

We call on Congress to – without further delay – enact legislation that offers permanent solutions for Dreamers. Together, we stand in solidarity with Dreamers and vow to continue supporting all immigrants living in our cities and counties. The time to act is now.”

The full letter can be read here.

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