Washington, D.C.— Today, Representative Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) announced she has introduced a discharge petition on the Dream & Promise Act, a bill that would provide citizenship for millions of immigrant youth, DACA recipients, individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). The discharge petition comes in the wake of the deadly ICE shootings that killed two fathers, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastian Guerrero, and mounting demands from the American people for Congress to answer for the violence, chaos and instability being caused by immigration enforcement and mass delegalization.
To date, the Trump Administration has terminated TPS for 14 of the 17 designated countries, threatening the lives of millions of people who will lose protections from deportations and their work authorization when their TPS expires. Prolonged DACA renewal delays at USCIS are taking up to 8 months or longer to process, also forcing many recipients out of status and contributing to what is the largest delegalization push in modern U.S. history.
Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, Deputy Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at United We Dream Action, said:
“The discharge petition exists for moments like the one we face today. In the span of just one week, our communities witnessed the devastating shootings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastian Guerrero. Two fathers, husbands, and working people whose lives ended in fear and whose deaths are a reminder of the 32 immigrants who have died at the hands of ICE and CBP this year alone.
“Congress cannot continue offering condolences in one breath, while shoveling billions of taxpayer dollars to fuel these horrors in another. As immigration enforcement intensifies across the country and millions in our communities who live under temporary programs like DACA and TPS are pushed out of status and out of work, the inevitable outcome is chaos, instability, and cruelty that impacts all of us – citizens and non-citizens alike. Whether it is the employers who will be forced to layoff thousands of employees ripped of their status, or the working families unable to afford rent because the breadwinner in their family was pushed out of DACA, the American people understand that citizenship is about how we deliver stability not just for immigrants, but for the communities who immigrants have always helped sustain. Every member has a clear responsibility: sign the discharge petition, bring the Dream & Promise Act to a vote, and show that they are willing to do whatever it takes to deliver for all working people.”
Deirdre Schifeling, Chief Political and Advocacy Officer of the ACLU, said:
“The Trump administration continues to deploy violent immigration agents into our communities to attack immigrants. Congress can end these brutal sieges, starting with the Dream and Promise Act, legislation that would provide protection from deportation and a path to citizenship to millions of people who are American in every way except on paper. It’s time for Congress to choose a vision on immigration: not Stephen Miller’s dystopian vision, but instead one that makes our communities whole.”
Dulce Guzmán, Executive Director, of Alianza Americas, said:
“The American Dream and Promise Act is an urgent response to a crisis that Congress has allowed to grow for far too long. For decades, Dreamers, TPS holders, and DED holders have built this country as our neighbors, coworkers, parents, caregivers, and community leaders. Today, hundreds of thousands have already lost their legal status, families have been torn apart, and immigrant communities—particularly people of Latin American and Caribbean origin—have borne the brunt of an immigration enforcement system fueled by racial profiling, militarization, de-legalization, and mass deportation.
Congress must embrace a vision for immigration that recognizes immigrants as essential to the strength and future of this country. Permanent protection is a critical first step toward restoring stability and dignity, even as we continue fighting for the millions of immigrants who remain excluded from this legislation and deserve the same opportunity to build their lives without fear. The discharge petition for the American Dream and Promise Act is a critical step toward delivering the permanent protections our communities have earned and toward building a more just immigration system.”
Carolyn Tran, Executive Director of Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP), said:
“Right now, TPS holders in our communities – African, Caribbean, Arab, Asian and Latinx families – are losing their status, their jobs, and their protection from deportation by the day, and they need Congress to act immediately to stop that harm. But make no mistake: this emergency is not a natural disaster. TPS once had support across both parties; it is the Trump administration that has turned it into a weapon against our communities. The deeper failure belongs to Congress, which for decades left people in limbo with no path to adjust their status – allowing them to build their lives, raise their families, and sustain our economy here, all while treating them as temporary. That is not a policy failure; it is a moral one.
“It is wrong to allow people to make their homes here and then deny them any way to stay, to work, to raise a family, and move through the world without fear. And it is indefensible to let millions who have anchored our neighborhoods and economies for decades remain undocumented with no solution in sight. Now that same Congress has handed ICE $71.5 billion to hunt, detain, and kill people in our communities, while families across this country can’t afford rent, groceries, or medicine – and the ICE killings that have devastated families are the direct result of that choice. Yet we know a better path is possible, the Haiti TPS bill that passed the House just months ago is the inspiration for this discharge petition. Haitian leadership showed us that Congress can protect our communities when we force it to.
“Citizenship is not the ceiling of what our people deserve – it is the minimum Congress owes those it has kept in limbo for a generation. Across this country, people are demanding the same thing: stability, safety, and a government that protects people instead of funding their persecution. Now Congress must sign this petition and deliver.”
Guerline Jozefs, Executive Director of The Haitian Bridge Alliance said,
“For too long TPS holders, Dreamers and DED have been living under a cloud of fear fighting for permanent protection. Now is the time for congress to prioritize those who have become an integral part of our communities. People like Josianne and her children who have been fighting for the Dream and Promise Act for almost 10 years now. A TPS holder whose life is once again in the balance as the Trump administration is implementing one of the most cruel and inhumane mass deportation agenda and the largest de-decumentation of immigrants in the US in modern history. Supporting the dream and promise Act is not a political act, it is a moral act to protect the lives of impacted immigrants and provide long term safety against family separation, detention and detention.”
Todd Schulte, President of FWD.us, said:
“Dreamers and TPS holders are integral members of our communities. They strengthen our economy and workforce, working in key industries including construction, health care, agriculture, and child care. They are the parents of hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizen children, who work hard everyday to take care of their families. The recent Supreme Court’s decision allowing the termination of TPS coupled with the administration’s quiet, ongoing attacks on Dreamers – with and without DACA– means all of them are now at greater risk of deportation. We’re grateful for Congresswoman Garcia’s continued leadership to ensure Dreamers and TPS holders are able to have a permanent pathway to citizenship so they can continue to live, work, and contribute to our country. We urge every Member who has voiced support for Dreamers and TPS holders to sign the discharge petition and move this legislation forward.”
George Escobar, Executive Director of We are CASA, said:
“The Trump administration is waging a campaign of persecution, stripping millions of their legal status and sending armed agents into our streets to hunt people down. Immigrant families, DACA recipients, TPS holders, and their U.S. citizen loved ones now live with the mounting fear that no legal status, humanitarian protection or federal court can shield them from the chaos and bloodshed of the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant and racist crusade.
“Congress cannot condemn this violence while refusing to use its power to stop it. This discharge petition for the American Dream and Promise Act offers the decisive action a vast majority of Americans demand: forcing a vote to end this chaos and deliver a pathway to permanent protections. No single bill will undo all the damage already inflicted on our communities, but the scale of this crisis is no excuse for congressional paralysis. Every House member faces a clear choice. Sign the petition and act or remain complicit. Our families have waited long enough.”
Dr. Iliana Perez, Executive Director of Immigrants Rising, said:
“The broad public support for providing long-overdue certainty and a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, and DED recipients is irrefutable. Congress cannot ignore this reality. Every day without a pathway to citizenship leaves individuals, families, and entire communities vulnerable to unnecessary uncertainty and hardship. This discharge petition gives Congress a meaningful opportunity to begin making things right for the millions of immigrants who strengthen our neighborhoods and workforce. Immigrants Rising calls on every Member of Congress to sign the discharge petition and vote to advance the American Dream and Promise Act.”
Sumayyah Waheed, Senior Policy Counsel of Muslim Advocates, said:
“The Supreme Court failed TPS holders in Mullin v. Doe, threatening the safety and livelihoods of our clients and hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, friends, and coworkers. The next line of defense against the Trump Administration’s racist, deadly anti-immigrant agenda must be Congress. The Dream and Promise Act would offer hope to millions of neighbors, colleagues, caregivers, and family members who are deeply integrated into communities around the country. We call on every Member of Congress to sign the Dream and Promise Act discharge petition, and we urge public officials to act now to protect our communities from ICE’s deadly violence, inhumane warehouse detention, and deportation to danger.”
Aby, DACA recipient and member of Make the Road New York, said:
“This administration has been tactically attacking DACA, stalling to renew thousands of DACA applications and putting a target on the backs of people like me. This administration is focused on putting immigrants at risk of detention and deportation, instead of providing a pathway to citizenship for people who have built our neighborhoods and families. As a single mother, my children depend on me for their well-being, but I’m constantly worried that I will be separated from them and their livelihood put in danger. This is Congress’ moment to act and take a step towards putting a stop to the chaos, fear, and uncertainty immigrant communities are being forced to live under. We all deserve to live in safety in the place we call home.”
Diana Pliego, Senior Campaigns Strategist, of National Immigration Law Center (NILC), said:
“Thousands of TPS recipients are at risk of deportation and losing their ability to work to provide for their families after the Supreme Court’s devastating decision. DACA recipients are facing renewal delays, losing their jobs, and being detained or deported. There is no time to waste. A pathway to citizenship is the only way forward. We fully support passing the Dream and Promise Act and call on every House member to immediately sign on to move the discharge petition forward.”
Angie Saucedo, a U.S. citizen whose family has been directly affected by the immigration system and a member of Connected Americans, said:
“My family’s future should not depend on which administration is in power or whether a temporary protection survives the next political attack. When immigrants are pushed out of status, U.S. citizen spouses, children, coworkers, and entire communities are forced to live with the consequences.
But this moment also gives us reason to hope. Congress has a real opportunity to deliver the stability families like mine have been denied for years and move us closer to a future where no family ever has to experience the tragedy and pain that families like Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastian Guerrero’s have had to endure. A solution is possible and on the table right now. I urge Congress to support the discharge petition on the Dream & Promise Act now.”
Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO president, said:
“Dreamers and TPS holders are our co-workers, union members and vital participants in the workforce who help keep our economy running. After years—even decades—of contributing to this country, more than a million workers have had their lives upended as the administration has cruelly and needlessly stripped away their status. Congress must urgently act to protect these workers and the industries and communities that rely on them. Passing the Dream and Promise Act will provide long-overdue stability for working families, strengthen our economy and move us one step closer to what working people have long demanded: a pathway to citizenship for all.”
Wendy Cervantes, Director of Immigration and Immigrant Families at the Center for Law and Social Policy and Director of the Children Thrive Action Network, said:
“As a nation where one in four children has an immigrant parent, the Trump Administration has created a nationwide crisis for children by un-documenting, arresting, detaining, and deporting their parents. ‘Dreamers,’ DACA recipients, and TPS holders are parents, caregivers, educators, and breadwinners who were promised protection—and with this protection, they pursued careers, started families, and put down roots in our country. Nearly a quarter million U.S. citizen children have a parent with DACA and an estimated 400,000 children have a parent who is eligible for TPS. This means that the attacks on DACA and TPS are creating instability for families across the country by stripping parents of their lawful status, employment, and putting them at risk of separation. Congress has a critical opportunity to keep the federal government’s promise of protection to these individuals and their families by passing the Dream and Promise Act.”