Dreamers including Gabby Pacheco, a DACA recipient, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee today on the urgency of protecting them from deportation. Amid a wave of xenophobia, many immigrant youth have fought for the rights of their peers through high school and campus organizations, national coalitions, internet blogs, and youth projects within immigrant rights groups through DACA. CLASP is grateful for their commitment and passion.
1. Dreamers Recipient Mitchell Soto-Rodriguez Testifies Before the Senate Judiciary Committee
The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing today to hear from Dreamers who have dedicated their lives to America and want nothing more than the opportunity to stay here, build a career and contribute to the country they call home. Dreamers have served our country as police officers, teachers, doctors and nurses, engineers, farmers and small business owners, and even members of the military. Despite the ongoing chaos at our borders, a bipartisan majority of Americans – including the overwhelming majority of Republicans – support a path to citizenship for these young people.
In opening remarks, Senator Dick Durbin emphasized that the administration’s decision to end DACA has left 800,000 of these hardworking, law-abiding citizens in uncertainty about their future and scared that they will be sent back to countries they have never known. Durbin urged Congress to take up the bipartisan DACA fix introduced by him and others, and he stressed that it should not include unnecessary border security enhancements that have no bearing on the immigration system as a whole.
Other witnesses testified, such as Luis Pacheco, who recalled her childhood in Mexico and being brought to the United States when she was a young girl. She is now a DACA recipient who works as a police officer in the Blue Island Police Department. She has been working for the city for five years and said her work has helped her raise her family to the middle class.
While she appreciates the support of her colleagues, she said that she feels frustrated that her work is being ignored. Pacheco urged her senators to find a solution that protects Dreamers and ensures that they can continue to serve their communities.
Other witnesses, such as Marielena Hincapie, a distinguished immigration scholar at Cornell University, argued that DACA should be protected. She also warned that if the program is ended, it would create a political crisis and provide “a legislative window” for Congress to pass a bill that includes a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers.
2. DACA Recipient Edwin Torres DeSantiago Testifies Before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Edwin Torres DeSantiago was lying in bed at 4 a.m. He couldn’t sleep, and the only way he could relax was by turning off his phone. He closed his eyes and felt like he was 6 years old again. Beneath the covers, he was protected from the day ahead of him, one that would dictate his future in the United States.
In the year since he started working as a community organizer, Torres has been part of the United We Dream (UWD) network of immigrant youth leaders and allies who fight for comprehensive immigration reform. UWD members have been able to see progress on this issue, and they are hopeful that the upcoming midterm elections will bring more momentum for it. But, they’re also aware that the stakes are higher than ever.
Immigration is the second biggest worry for Americans, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, and the future of more than half a million young people remains uncertain. They are DACA recipients, who were brought to the United States as children and lack legal status. The program offers temporary protection from deportation and work permits. President Trump has tried to end it, but his attempts have been blocked by courts.
The Supreme Court is deciding whether to allow challenges to the program to proceed and to decide its fate once and for all. Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a series of hearings on the issue.
On May 8, the panel will hear from UWD leaders about the many contributions that DACA has made in their communities and workplaces, but they’ll also discuss the current uncertainty of their own futures. These hearings come as the Trump administration has halted new DACA applications, and the fate of existing recipients’ renewals is in question.
CLASP has submitted written testimony for the record that highlights the contributions of Dreamers and explains the urgency of protecting them and passing legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship for all immigrants, including Dreamers. We also urge the Senate to support a bipartisan bill sponsored by Sens. Durbin and Graham, and co-sponsored by several colleagues, that would do just that.
3. DACA Recipient Luis Pacheco Testifies Before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Since its inception, DACA has provided nearly 834,000 young people with a pathway to live, work, and study in the only country they’ve ever known. They contribute to their communities, help fuel our economy, and serve in our military. But if they lose their protections, the Dreamers will be forced to leave behind everything they’ve built. The president’s decision to rescind DACA puts their future at risk and has already put their careers in jeopardy.
Today, a group of Dreamers and their allies came to Congress to share their stories with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The hearing was a powerful reminder of the contributions that Dreamers make to our nation and why it’s imperative we protect them.
The committee’s chair, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), opened the hearing by calling for Congress to pass the bipartisan DREAM Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers. Durbin cited the numerous achievements of Dreamers, including serving in the military, running businesses, raising families, and caring for patients. He also highlighted the fact that DACA recipients undergo a rigorous background check and are an asset to our society. But the committee’s ranking member, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), argued that the issue of DACA should be secondary to solving the “complete, utter disaster” at our border and advancing hardline immigration policies.
Several witnesses spoke out against the president’s decision to end DACA, including Tammy Nobles, the mother of slain 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton. Nobles emphasized that DACA isn’t “an amnesty for illegal immigrants.” She and other speakers criticized the Trump administration’s use of selected cases involving undocumented noncitizens who are convicted of crimes to scare everyday Americans about immigrant crime. In addition, they noted that many communities are harmed by the loss of DACA recipients. For example, the Los Angeles Times reported that California will lose a significant amount of revenue due to the loss of DACA-eligible workers. This is because state governments are responsible for paying social security and medicare benefits for those who work without the proper documentation. Businesses, like IBM and Starbucks, have warned that rescinding DACA will lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.
4. DACA Recipient Javier Hernandez Testifies Before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Amid the political battle over DACA’s future, the senators who negotiated the bill have been working hard to reach across party lines and find common ground on an issue where there is broad support in Congress for Dreamers. But it is a difficult task when so many members on the other side of the aisle have vowed not to help anyone, even one immigrant, at any cost.
On September 5, the day the administration canceled DACA, Javier Hernandez stood in front of his Senate office with fellow advocates. He was there to convey his personal experience, highlight the importance of DACA, and make a case for why young immigrants should be protected from deportation and given the opportunity to continue building their lives in our country.
He and his colleagues were aware that their plan to show up outside of Obama’s campaign office could have gotten them arrested for trespassing, but they weren’t afraid of risking everything to call attention to the president’s record on immigration. They wanted to remind him that he had promised to take executive action to stop deportations of Dreamers but hadn’t done so during his first term.
In 2024, he’s running for the House of Representatives from California’s 53rd District, which covers Pomona, Montclair and Ontario. He’s endorsed by the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and Equality California and has a track record of fighting for a strong economy, quality education, public safety and universal health care.
He’s introduced the Dream Act, which would give young people lawful permanent status after passing a rigorous background check and meeting certain educational or work requirements. He’s also coauthored legislation to protect Dreamers that was part of a comprehensive bill he worked on with other senators in the “Gang of Eight.” But his colleagues have blocked these efforts, refusing to allow a vote on them and continuing to block broader bipartisan immigration reform. Those who oppose a path to citizenship for Dreamers are putting the fate of the millions of young people who have been protected by DACA and TPS at risk, and it’s time for them to step up and do their jobs.
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