How to advocate for DACA recipients

Friday, Sep. 15, 2017
By Jean Hill
Director, Diocese of Salt Lake City Office of Life, Justice and Peace

The recent decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program impacts more than 780,000 youth who received protection from the DACA program. DACA provided no legal status or government benefits but did provide recipients with temporary employment authorization to work in the United States and reprieve from deportation.

Congress has six months to enact a legislative solution to protect these innocent children from deportation to countries most have never known. Please urge all members of our congressional delegation to support H.R. 3440 the “Dream Act of 2017.” This bipartisan legislation, introduced on July 26, 2017, by Representatives Roybal-Allard (D-CA-40) and Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL-27), would protect numerous immigrant youth from deportation, including the approximately 780,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.

The Dream Act offers qualifying immigrant youth “conditional permanent resident status” and a path to full lawful permanent residency and eventual citizenship. In order to receive the conditional status, the person must, among other requirements, have entered the U.S. as a child, been continuously present in the United States for at least four years prior to enactment of the bill, meet certain admissibility and security requirements, and have obtained or be pursuing secondary education. Current DACA recipients are also deemed eligible for the conditional status. H.R. 3440 allows recipients of this conditional status to obtain non- conditional lawful permanent residency if they satisfy requirements that include: background checks; demonstrated English proficiency; and either education in a higher learning institution, honorable military service, three years of employment in the United States, or a hardship exception.

Contact your representative and both Utah senators.  Your email or phone message might sound something like this:

I am a constituent from ____(city).  I urge you to support the Dream Act of 2017 to protect migrant youth who entered the U.S. through no fault of their own and have grown up here.  The youth impacted by this bill truly exemplify the extraordinary contributions that immigrants can provide to our nation. These youth should not be forced to live their lives in constant fear that they will be deported at any moment and separated from their families. It is both our moral duty and in our nation’s best interest to protect them and allow them to reach their God-given potential.

Contact your legislators

REP. ROB BISHOP, 1st District

Phone: 202-224-5251  

Ogden office (main Utah office): 801-625-0107

Brigham City office: 435-734-2270 

REP. MIA LOVE, 4th District   

Washington, D.C. office: 202-225-3011

Utah District office: 801-996-8729    

REP. CHRIS STEWART, 2nd District

Washington, D.C. office: 202-225-9730

Salt Lake City office: 801-364-5550

St. George office: 435-627-1911

SEN. ORRIN HATCH 

Washington DC office: 202-224-5251  

Cedar City office: 435-586-8435  

Ogden office: 801-625-5672

Provo office: 801-375-7881

Salt Lake City office: 801-524-4380

St. George office:435-634-1795

SEN. MIKE LEE

Washington, D.C. office: 202-224-5444

Salt Lake City office: 801-524-5933

St. George office: 435-628-5514

Ogden office: 801-392-9633

For questions, comments or to report inaccuracies on the website, please CLICK HERE.
© Copyright 2024 The Diocese of Salt Lake City. All rights reserved.