WASHINGTON - Senate GOP leaders and President Donald Trump again failed to find a permanent legislative solution for our nation’s Dreamers despite overwhelming public support for the Dream Act.
NEA President Lily Eskelsen García issued the following statement:
“The failure of Senate Republican leaders and Donald Trump to protect Dreamers leaves behind a long trail of disappointment, angst, and uncertainty. We cannot afford to continue to play politics with the lives of hundreds of thousands of aspiring Americans. Trump’s treatment of DACA recipients and their families is unilaterally inhumane, cruel, and contrary to the values that we hold dear as a nation.
“Repeatedly the politics of inaction on a permanent fix for our Dreamers are hurting real people, including thousands of DACAmented educators. One hundred and twenty DACA recipients are losing their protected status each day that goes by. Approximately 22,000 DACA recipients have already lost their status—including educators—since September. When DACA educators lose their protected status, they also lose their work permits. Not only will it remove teachers and students from our classrooms, our educators’ lose their ability to support their families, pay their mortgages, even lose their employer-provided health insurance, let alone exposing them to deportation.
“The political will and the public support to protect Dreamers are there but Donald Trump and Senate GOP leaders stand in the way every time. We are not going away. We will not quit. We will not back down. We will continue to raise our voices to defend and protect Dreamers. And we will stay vigilant to make sure Congress does more than pay lip service to the promises they are making.
