Congress should approve a permanent solution for young immigrants in the upcoming FY18 omnibus funding bill

(BOSTON, MA) — Statement of Robert Restuccia, executive director of Community Catalyst, regarding Congress’ failure to meet the March 5, 2018 deadline to come up with a solution on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

“Congress has failed to finish critical business that affects the health and lives of young people and families across America. Since President Trump ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in September 2017, Congress has yet to meet his March 5, 2018 deadline to come up with a permanent solution that protects hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who contribute to our culture and economy from deportation. More than 22,000 DACA recipients have lost their status since Trump’s announcement last fall, and 13,000 stand to lose their protections this month alone. The Trump Administration’s reckless decision to terminate DACA has put those children at risk, subjecting them to trauma that can have lifelong health consequences.

“We urge both chambers of Congress to include a clean DREAM Act in their upcoming vote on the FY18 omnibus funding bill. It is paramount that Congress and the president work in a bipartisan fashion and quickly advance a permanent solution for hundreds of thousands of Dreamers whose parents brought them to this country when they were children.

“Providing a permanent solution for Dreamers enjoys bipartisan and strong public support. Community Catalyst and our allies across the country will continue to press Congress to address this issue and do better for our families and our communities.” 

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About Community Catalyst
Community Catalyst is a national, non-profit consumer advocacy organization founded in 1998 with the belief that affordable quality health care should be accessible to everyone. We work in partnership with national, state and local organizations, policymakers, and philanthropic foundations to ensure consumer interests are represented wherever important decisions about health and the health system are made: in communities, courtrooms, statehouses and on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit www.communitycatalyst.org. Read our blog at http://blog.communitycatalyst.org. Follow us on Twitter @healthpolicyhub.