Skip to main content

34 House Republicans Urge DACA Fix Before End of Year

December 5, 2017

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, 34 House Republicans, including several members of the Republican Main Street Caucus, sent a letter urging Speaker Paul Ryan to put a permanent solution for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives before the end of the year.

Although the current DACA program is set to expire in March, about 22,000 DACA individuals were unable to renew their status this year, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Without a replacement legislative solution, more than 700,000 young people face an uncertain future in the United States. The letter was led by Scott Taylor (R-Va.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), and members of the Republican Main Street Caucus. Click here to view the letter.

"This letter shows many Republicans are serious about finding a permanent solution to solving the DACA issue as President Trump has urged Congress to do," said U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Chairman of the Republican Main Street Caucus. "However, we want to work with leadership to craft a solution that will pass, not play political games or hold government funding hostage like some of our Democrat counterparts. I appreciate the leadership of Main Street members Taylor, Newhouse, and Denham because it's important we address this issue now, rather than later."

"Dreamers did what their government asked them to do. They came out of the shadows, paid a fee, passed a background check, and got a job or enrolled in school. They are making real contributions to the only country they have ever known to be home. Congress has an obligation to resolve this issue, and it needs to happen now," said Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.).

"For thousands of DACA recipients across the nation, including 17,000 in my home state, every day without a legislative solution brings more uncertainty about their future. DACA recipients should not be a political football. Rather than delaying until next year or pushing unrealistic partisan legislation that has no hope of being signed into law by the president, the right thing to do is for Congress to come together on a deal to give these young people certainty," said Rep. Newhouse.

"Now is our time in Congress to lead with justice, mercy, and compassion for DACA recipients. We need to create, negotiate, and pass a law protecting those in this stateless limbo which should also contain disincentives to future illegal immigration and increased border security measures. There are DACA recipients who are as American as myself. Americans do not punish children for their parents' sins," said Rep. Taylor.