CONYERS: Pass DREAM Act Now

The six-month delay in initiating this process does no justice for these DREAMers and the families who will be torn apart.

And the Trump Administration’s pretext for this action—DACA’s supposed unconstitutionality—simply doesn’t carry water. I stand with DREAMers & call on House Republicans' Leaders to pass the DREAMAct now.

#ProtectDREAMers

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Fifth Circuit Ruling on Immigration Executive Actions Wrong on the Law and Wrong for our Country

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representatives John Conyers, Jr.(D-Mich.), Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee, and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Ranking Member on the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee, delivered the following statement today after the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion.  Monday evening upholding a Texas district court ruling against Department of Homeland Security immigration directives issued in November 2014:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“We are disappointed – though not surprised – that the Fifth Circuit has sided against the President’s executive immigration action and the millions of immigrants it would have helped.  The opinion predictably parrots the dubious legal and procedural arguments embraced by the lower court.  

“While this decision is unfortunate and comes after months of delay, we are pleased the case can now move forward.  We laud the fast response by the Department of Justice to petition for Supreme Court review.  We respectfully request that the Supreme Court expeditiously grant certiorari and hear this case this term.  For the millions of families who live under the threat of deportation, time is of the essence.  

“We are confident that once the case has been heard, the Supreme Court will rule in favor of the President’s constitutional authority to humanely enforce our immigration laws – the same authority that was relied upon and exercised by Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, among others.  

“These are immigrant families with U.S. citizen children who in many cases have been in our country for 10 years or longer.  DAPA would merely provide them temporary immigration relief and employment authorization, acknowledging that the vast majority of these parents are already working in the United States.

“Of course, an even better option would be for Republicans in Congress to stop catering to anti-immigration extremists and work in a bipartisan fashion to fix our broken immigration system by passing comprehensive immigration reform.”

Background:

The Fifth Circuit decision prevents implementation of the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program, which provides temporary deportation relief for certain parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, and expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides similar relief for DREAMers.  Of the 10 immigration executive actions announced in November 2014, the other 8 have already been or are in the process of being implemented.

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Conyers: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Should Keep DREAMers and Parents Together

(WASHINGTON) – Today, the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security held a hearing entitled, “Addressing the Immigration Status of Illegal Immigrants Brought to the United States as Children.” After the first panel’s opening remarks, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement:

“I am greatly encouraged by the tenor of today’s immigration reform hearing, and by my Republican colleagues’ increasing openness to meaningful reform for undocumented immigrants. Nearly 3 years ago, the House of Representatives passed the DREAM Act - legislation that would have taken a significant step toward eliminating injustice in our current immigration system by providing permanent residency for individuals brought here as young children illegally by their parents. After a 3 year lull in legislative action on behalf of these ‘DREAMers,’ I am heartened that we are revisiting the subject today,” said Conyers.

“However, following the moving testimony of several witnesses, I find it hardhearted for the House of Representatives to consider reforms to our broken immigration system that would allow ‘DREAMers’ the chance to become citizens but would do nothing to ensure that these DREAMers’ families stay intact. We cannot reform our immigration system in a piecemeal approach that comes at the expense of undocumented parents, often meaning deportation. Only through a comprehensive approach can we keep American families intact, instead of torn apart.

“Increasingly, my Republican colleagues have described resolving the status of DREAMers as an issue of ‘basic fairness’ and ‘of decency, of compassion.’ We must honor these values - of fairness, decency, and compassion - for DREAMers as well as for their parents. Immigration reform should never entail the breaking up of families.”

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Conyers Celebrates Historic First Day of Obama Deferred Action Policy, Urges Passage of DREAM Act as Permanent Solution

(DETROIT) – Today, Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), participated in a press conference applauding the Obama Administration’s bold policy to provide relief to young upstanding individuals who are American in every way but name. The press conference included Alliance for Immigrant Rights & Reform Michigan, local advocates, and three DREAMers intending to apply for deferred action under the new policy. Representative John Conyers, Jr. released this statement following the press conference:

“Two months ago, President Obama made a historic announcement that his administration would work to use executive discretion so that young people would receive temporary protection from deportation. Today, the Administration made good on its word,” said Conyers.

“I am pleased to announce that today is the first day that qualified young people will be able to request deferred action from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. This is an important day for countless young people who were brought to this country as children and have grown up knowing only America as their home. These are young people who have excelled in our schools, attended our churches and mosques, and played in our Little Leagues. They wish nothing more than to contribute to this country — the only one they have ever truly known.

“Until today, these young individuals lived in fear of deportation. Yet, under President Obama and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s leadership, these young people can now receive temporary protection from deportation.

“I want it to be clear that this policy only applies to a distinct group of young people who were brought to the United States as children, played by the rules, and can demonstrate that they meet key guidelines through documentation.

“I commend the Obama Administration for recognizing that executive discretion – which is used in so many other areas – is especially justified when we are faced with removing productive young people to countries where they may have never lived and where they may not even speak the language.

“I am personally committed to making this a successful program, and I want all young people who are eligible for deferred action to have access to the program. But that doesn’t mean Congress’s job is done.  The President has used his executive authority to set immigration priorities and offer temporary protection, but Congress must act to make this protection permanent by passing the DREAM Act into law.”

For additional helpful information on the steps needed to be taken for deferred action, please visit the Department of Homeland Security’s webpage at:

http://www.dhs.gov/files/enforcement/deferred-action-process-for-young-people-who-are-low-enforcement-priorities.shtm

Representative John Conyers, Jr. speaking at a Press Conference on Deferred Action for DREAMers.

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Press Conference: Deferred Action for DREAMers

(DETROIT) – Tomorrow, Wednesday August 15^th, is the first day that young individuals will be able to apply for the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program by submitting requests to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) will be joining immigration rights groups and undocumented students who plan to apply for the program, in a press conference praising the Obama Administration’s bold policy that provides relief to young people who are American in every way but name.

                 

WHAT:                 Press Conference on Deferred Action for DREAMers

WHERE:               United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

                                11411 East Jefferson Avenue

                                Detroit, MI 48214

               

WHEN:                 Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 10:00 a.m.

WHO:                   The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.)

                                Three DREAMers intending to apply for deferred action

The Alliance for Immigrants Rights & Reform Michigan

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Bring immigrants out of the shadows

By John Conyers, Jr.

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

Last Friday, President Obama courageously announced that it would no longer be the policy of the United States to deport young illegal immigrants who came to this country as children years ago through no fault of their own. This announcement brings some measure of justice to a deeply dysfunctional immigration system.

The president’s actions remind me of the letter Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sent from a Birmingham jail in 1963, when he wrote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” When I think of the immigration challenges facing our nation, I often think of these words and the lesser-known words that follow:  

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial ‘outside agitator’ idea.”

The president recognizes that these young, undocumented students, as with so many immigrants, are already interwoven into the fabric of American life. These are not outsiders. They are our neighbors, our employees, our classmates and our veterans. It is not only inhumane but impractical to think we can simply deport our way to a solution. 

Those who oppose the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act and the president’s actions countenance an America where vast numbers live in the shadows, a permanent underclass of outsiders. Or they advocate laws that would make life in America so miserable for millions that they will just pack up and leave. They oppose efforts to reasonably deal with our immigration challenges, arguing instead for strict adherence to “the rule of law.” 

But we need to face facts. Our laws have been broken for decades, failing to meet the needs of American families and entire industries, particularly agriculture. As Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, put it two year ago at a House Judiciary ommittee hearing: “We have sent at best a mixed message to undocumented workers for more than two decades. At the border, we have had two signs posted: ‘No Trespassing’ and ‘Help Wanted.’ ” 

We need an immigration system that reflects the reality on the ground. It is time to bring those who have paid taxes and committed no crimes out of the shadows. It is time to ensure that undocumented workers are no longer exploited by unscrupulous employers. It is time to make sure that the laws we are so vigorously enforcing are designed to help move this country’s economy forward, not hold it back. The American people deserve a practical solution to the problem. And poll after poll shows that the overwhelming majority believe the answer lies in a comprehensive approach to immigration reform.  

But why does an issue where there is a clear path forward appear to be intractable? 

It’s small-minded thinking by those who believe that stoking nativist fears will lead to a short-term electoral advantage. 

We have a presumptive Republican presidential nominee who not only has vowed to veto the DREAM Act but has called the cruel Arizona immigration law a model for the country. We have state legislators who appeal to the lowest common denominator and would make criminals out of immigrants whose only offense is a desire to work for a better life for themselves and their families. 

I reject this. 

The anger and fear that has prevented us from rationalizing our immigration policy might be understandable; there is plenty of blame to go around. But those who aggravate this fear by scapegoating immigrants abdicate leadership. They ascribe to what Dr. King called
the “ ‘outside agitator’ idea.” 

The challenge posed by our broken immigration system requires an appeal to the better angels of our nature. To guide us, we have Dr. King’s enduring example of leadership, courage and inspiration. And like the civil-rights movement, the journey may be long and the path uneven, but the result will be a stronger and more just America.

Conyers is the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

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Conyers Praises Obama Administration for Providing Relief to Immigrant Young People

(WASHINGTON)—Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) praised the policy announced by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano that grants immigration officials the discretion to defer deportation action against certain young undocumented immigrants.  These same individuals would also be allowed to apply for work permits.  Only individuals who meet certain criteria would be eligible for consideration under the announced policy.  Eligible individuals must show that they came to the U.S. as minors under the age of 16; lived here continuously for at least 5 years; are under the age of 30; are currently enrolled in school, graduated from high school or received an equivalent degree, or served in the military; and have clean criminal records and pose no threat to national security or public safety.

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

“I applaud President Obama and Secretary Napolitano for their courageous leadership in making today’s announcement.  Thousands of undocumented young people, many of whom are students or military veterans, are forced to live in the shadows because they were brought here as minor children.  They are productive members of society who wish nothing more than to contribute to this country – the only one they have ever really known.       

“We call them DREAMers, based on proposed legislation—the DREAM Act—that enjoys the overwhelming support of Americans in poll after poll, was passed by the House of Representatives in 2010, and which would easily receive a majority in the Senate, if put to a vote.  But more than the name of the bill, it is a fitting way to refer to these young immigrants because their greatest wish is to have the opportunity to realize the American dream.

“This announcement builds on prior Administration efforts to prioritize enforcement efforts on the removal of dangerous criminals over DREAM Act students and others who pose no threat to our country.  Due to limited resources, the Department of Homeland Security must use its prosecutorial discretion authority under current law to set enforcement priorities, and it makes no sense to waste them on the detention and deportation of innocent young people.  The exercise of prosecutorial discretion on a case-by-case basis is a time-honored law enforcement practice that has been used for humanitarian immigration purposes by every Administration in recent memory.  Under the new policy, eligible young people will be afforded temporary protection but not a path to citizenship or even permanent green cards.  A real and lasting solution for them and millions of other immigrants requires Congressional action.     

“Unfortunately, immigration is an issue where elected officials often choose to stoke nativist fears, and we have seen this manifest itself over and over again with mean-spirited state and local laws.  Our immigration system is broken, and amidst today’s polarized political environment, the prospects for reform appear dim.  But with this announcement, President Obama has chosen reason, compassion, and hope over fear.  I am proud to stand with the president and the DREAMers today, and I will continue the fight for immigrants’ rights.”

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