It’s been nearly 80 days since the Trump administration created chaos for over 800,000 lives by revoking the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. The Trump administration put at risk the imminent future of thousands of young and hard-working students, nurses, business owners, scientists, soldiers and fellow neighbors that benefit from this program. In revoking the program by creating an artificial deadline of Sept. 5, the Trump administration created this chaos and looming deadline that is threatening to shut down the government. The administration should have waited until a legislative solution was passed in Congress before recklessly ending one of the nation’s most successful immigration programs that presented crucial moral and fiscal benefits. 

The momentum for a DREAM Act, or other legislative solutions for Dreamers, has been rapidly increasing since the rescindment of the program. Multiple organizations, such as FWD.us, United We Dream and Fair Immigration Reform Movement, have arranged a wide array of trips in Washington D.C. for DACA recipients to directly advocate their members of Congress on the urgency for such a legislative solution. The most recent of advocacy movements, which I had the privilege of attending, resulted in one of the largest protests inside the Senate Hart Building, where over 1,000 Dreamers and allies flooded the Senate building demanding that Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) put legislation for a vote before December. There is no time to wait for this legislation. According to FWD.us, beginning in March, every day, 1,400 DACA recipients will lose their status, work authorization and become eligible for deportation. This cruel moral and economic injustice can simply be avoided by passing the bipartisan and massively popular, DREAM ACT that includes a pathway to citizenship with strict educational requirements and background checks. The bill also does not grant citizenship instantly, it is a long-term process with several checkpoints that are used as evidence to analyze the merit of a Dreamer for citizenship. This is a tough process for any to pass, further evident of the beneficial records of Dreamers in the nation. Democratic Party leaders have already stated that they are willing to negotiate on sensible border security enhancements that reflect the status-quo necessity for the region. However, these 800,000 lives are not political jargon, and the poison pill of demands created by the radical side of the West Wing, White House Policy Advisor Stephen Miller and Attorney General Jeff Sessions is aimed at preventing any deal from protecting these young American Dreamers. This direct advocacy is not just isolated to DACA recipients, but to the many sectors that depend on DACA recipients for success. On Nov. 15, FWD.us organized a Congressional advocacy event where the United States Chamber of Commerce, IBM and various other business and tech organizations held a press conference that called upon the immediate action of Congress to pass a legislative fix before Congress enters for recess. This support has extended into major business companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Airbnb, IBM, Dell and others that have funded organizations to pressure Congress and mobilize support for the DREAM Act. This support reflects the crucial contributions of DACA recipients to our American economy. 

This grassroots momentum has translated into legislative action across party lines. On Nov. 9, over two dozen GOP House Members rebuked their own speaker, Paul Ryan (R-Wis.),  by holding a press conference where they demanded and called upon their colleagues to pass a legislative solution before 2017 ends. The group is also reflective of the GOP constituency support on the issue, with conservatives such as Rep Joe Barton (R-Texas) and moderates such as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) coming together to demand urgent action before the year ends. According to a Nov. 9 article in the Miami Herald, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Was.) stated, “The reality is that these young people with DACA status are already being harmed today, everyday that Congress fails to act, every time that Congress kicks this can down the road, people, real people, are hurt.” This reflects the growing legislative momentum surrounding a solution for Dreamers before or on the funding deadline. While the political pressure has been effective, we must keep going. In a tax reform Fox News Town Hall with Bret Baier, Ryan conceded that he would like to pursue the DACA legislation separate from funding and that we should not create “artificial deadlines.” However, there is nothing artificial here, as stated by members of his own party, procrastinating this issue will only hurt in the end hardworking people. If he would like to pursue separate legislation, he should pass a legislative solution such as the DREAM ACT before the budget. The Democratic Party cannot vote for a budget that does not include a DACA solution as that would mean voting for the funding of the deportation of Dreamers. As a party we must stand strong and united and use this political leverage to actualize some true bipartisan and positive reform. Leaders such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) have already vowed to not support the budget until a legislative solution for Dreamers is passed. 

The statements by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Nov. 9 highlight the growing tension that is looming a government shutdown that will harm Americans as a result of reckless GOP obstruction by a minority and fringe wing of the party. As quoted in a Nov. 9 article in the Hill, Pelosi said, “I’ll have to see what the spending bill is,” adding, “But I fully intend that we will — we will not leave here without the DREAM Act passing with a DACA fix. I’ve made that very clear.” This position further foreshadows the potential shutdown if Republican leaders refuse to put legislation on the floor for a vote before the funding deadline. No party would like to see the government shutdown, but the Democratic  Party must demand that the president and Congress are accountable to their constituents and past remarks that have all shown support for DACA recipients. Rhetoric is easy, but action shows true intentions. We must continue to put pressure on all levels of our communities, whether it be local, state, or federal. Students interested in this crucial and urgent advocacy on a local and campus level can contact the Brandeis Immigration Education Initiative. BIEI has been a crucial leader in on-campus advocacy efforts as a leading organization behind the FWD.us University Program, the leading college campus program for DACA advocacy. In our efforts, we have advocated and successfully received a wide-array of resources by Brandeis that are crucial to DACA students on issues such as legal aid, financial aid and security. Just recently, BIEI organized in partnership with FWD.us, an on-campus roundtable with our own representative, Katherine Clark (D-MA) where she expressed her direct commitment to protecting our Dreamers this upcoming budget deadline. On a statewide level, the MIRA Coalition is leading tremendous advocacy for Massachusetts DACA recipients in our state legislature and governor’s office, and finally, if you would like to advocate on the DREAM ACT at the federal level, please visit FWD.us to take immediate action and join the FWD.us College and University Immigration Coalition for more detailed and daily advocacy tools towards passing a DREAM Act before winter recess. 

In reflecting on the way we achieved DACA, it is important to remember we confronted a president of our own party. Throughout this entire process, we were told it was impossible. Our sharing of stories, intense advocacy and majority support from our fellow Americans allowed for what was perceived as politically impossible. Since the inception of the DREAM Act battle that began with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in the early 2000s, we have shown the American public our determination and commitment to our nation and communities. This commitment actualized in DACA and the quantification of the benefit of our presence among the workforce and economy. We have been close in the past both in 2010 and 2012, and back then the congressional support paled relative to the status-quo. Let us not go off this holiday season forcing 800,000 Dreamers questioning if this is going to be their last holiday in the only nation they consider home, the United States.