Dozens of FIU students want Congress to pass what they call a “clean” Dream Act that would provide a legal pathway to citizenship.
Students who are recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA, as well as TPS recipients, walked out of their classes Thursday to demand lawmakers enact legislation to protect dreamers.
On Thursday, House Republicans announced they hope for a compromise bill on DACA by the end of the year. One member of an FIU organization called “Students Working for Equal Rights” estimates there are more than 100 undocumented students on campus and many will be affected if DACA comes to an end.
“A clean Dream Act entails a piece of legislation that doesn’t have anything else added to it,” said Allison Sardinas of Students Working for Equal Rights. “So a lot of people have been seeing lately that dreamers have almost been used as bargaining chips. So, we’re going to let dreamers do this, but we’re going to go after their families with increased boarder security.”
The Trump Administration said earlier this year that it would stop considering new DACA applications but allowed any current recipients with a permit set to expire before March 5, 2018, the opportunity to apply for a two-year renewal, if they applied by October 5th.
