Washington, D.C. – Following the Senate’s passage of a reconciliation bill late last week that greenlit an additional $70 billion to turbocharge immigration enforcement and blocked every attempt to address intensifying attacks against DACA recipients, the House of Representatives is expected to vote today on whether to do the same.
If passed, this reconciliation bill will dramatically expand the administration’s already violent immigration enforcement apparatus, targeting cities and states the administration says are not complying with its mass deportation orders, and ensure immigration agents who continue to wrongfully target those with valid status, including DACA recipients, can do so without consequence.
Noticeably, during the Senate vote late Friday, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip and author of the Dream Act Dick Durbin (D-IL) called up an amendment to protect DACA recipients for a vote. The amendment would have redirected $10 million towards timely processing of DACA renewal applications and reined in immigration agents from targeting DACA recipients and deportation. The amendment was rejected with all but two Senate Republicans –Senators Murkowski and Collins– voting no. A second amendment from Senator Gallego that would have specifically addressed just the issue of DACA renewal delays was also rejected by nearly all Senate Republicans, except Senator Murkowski.
Ahead of an expected House vote on the reconciliation bill scheduled for later today, United We Dream Action released the following statement:
“Last week’s Senate vote was a blatant admission that Congress is allowing DACA to be hollowed piece by piece until its protections exist in name only. Since the start of 2025, more than 340 DACA recipients have been detained and more than 90 deported, as far as we know. Thousands more are facing deliberate processing delays that are pushing them out of status. None of this is happening by accident. The threats to DACA are part of a wider effort to dismantle temporary programs, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and humanitarian parole, and delegalize millions of people.
The House now has a choice: stand by while taxpayer dollars are weaponized against the communities we call home, or draw a clear line in the sand and reject efforts to undermine DACA, target the cities we call home and our neighbors, and distract from the real challenges working people are faced with today. We urge the House to vote no on the reconciliation bill and focus on delivering stability and protections for all working families, including a pathway to citizenship.”