January 22, 2018

NHLA SLAMS VOTE TO DELAY LEGISLATION FOR DREAMERS
Latino Leaders Denounce the U.S. Senate’s Vote to Pass a Three-Week Spending Bill Based on Flimsy Promises

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 45 of the nation’s preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, is deeply critical of today’s Senate vote to further delay a vote on legislation to protect Dreamers, young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. On the heels of a shutdown caused by Donald Trump and Republican leadership, some senators have now caved to the stubborn refusal of Trump and others to negotiate in earnest and in good-faith to find a solution for more than 800,000 immigrants who need a permanent legislative solution today. All we have been assured is a faint promise by Senate leadership to hold a vote on a bill for those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), as yet to be determined, and with no strategy to pass a bill in the House of Representatives.

This Trump-made chaos and the failure of our Congressional leadership to address the pressing needs of the Latino community--including DACA, CHIP, and disaster relief funding--is unacceptable for the Latino community. If Congress is serious about providing better economic opportunities and growth for our country, then it must pass legislation to protect Dreamers and allow them the opportunities to flourish and contribute, and it must do so immediately.

"Here we go again. Many Senate Democrats have mistakenly placed their faith, and the lives of Dreamers, in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — someone who has repeatedly held the DREAM Act and other legislation to address vital immigration issues, hostage," said Hector E. Sanchez Barba, Chair of NHLA and Executive Director of the Labor Council on Latin American Advancement. "At the center of all this are the unconscionable actions of President Trump and Republican leaders in Congress. How dare they continue to play chicken with the lives of 800,000 young people? Their actions, and the complicity of those Senate Democrats who caved today, perpetuates the Trump administration's traumatizing of the immigrant community. Our community and allies will not soon forget their transgressions against the Latino and immigrant communities."

“Those, of either party, who voted today to capitulate to the worst manifestations of xenophobia emanating from the White House will be held accountable by the Latino community,” said Thomas A. Saenz, NHLA Vice Chair and MALDEF President and General Counsel. “They have sown the wind of nativism, and, unless they uproot the terrible seed they planted today by enacting fair and resilient protections for immigrant youth, they will reap the whirlwind of community backlash.”

“We are deeply disappointed that Congress refused to strike a deal on the passage of the Dream Act,” said Jose Calderon, NHLA Immigration Committee Co-Chair and President of Hispanic Federation. “Their refusal to act has yet again left 800,000 Dream kids living in a state of perpetual fear - a fear of being torn from their families and the only country they call home. They deserve better. Our community deserves better. Our nation deserves better. You can rest assured that we will not stop fighting until President Trump and Congress finally stop playing political games with the lives of our children and pass a just Dream Act.”

Jessica González-Rojas, Executive Director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) and Co-Chair of the Latina Task Force and the Health Committee said, “We are deeply outraged at our elected officials for their continued refusal to protect immigrant youth from deportation. Over 800,000 undocumented young people depend on their DACA status to live full and healthy lives without fear of deportation and being torn apart from their families, and by denying them a permanent solution Congress is endangering their lives. Every human being, regardless of immigration status, deserves the right to live free from fear of persecution, and with the power to make and exercise decisions about their health, family, and future. Congress must act now and prioritize putting a clean Dream Act on the floor. 122 Dreamers are losing their DACA status daily and this issue cannot wait. ”

“Dreamers are forced to make this leap of faith, yet it feels like Congress is gearing up to push them out of an airplane with no parachute. There is no room for error, so in the strongest of terms, we call on Congress to prove that the political calculus made today with these 800,000 lives was not in vain. No more sideshows, no more delays,” said Amy L. Hinojosa, NHLA Latina Task Force Member and President and CEO of MANA, A National Latina Organization.

“It’s unacceptable for the President and the US Congress to play with the lives of 800,000 individuals who were brought to the US as kids, and grew up pledging allegiance to the US flag. They learned the American values and live by them. The US has already invested in educating the DREAMers. Congress is wasting the opportunity to provide these hard working and educated individuals with the opportunity to continue to contribute to the US as a critical workforce” said Rebeca Vargas, President & CEO, U.S-Mexico Foundation.

"Our Dreamers have contributed to the United States in many ways and are preparing themselves to be our future leaders, an opportunity needs to be given to them in the United States for their dedication to education now. They are positive and productive students. This is a critical issue and needs to be resolved a.s.a.p.. These students lives’ are on the line now. Delaying the situation isn’t acceptable," said National Council of Puerto Rican Women, Inc. National President Wanda Gordils.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
| Michael Torra | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202) 425-0582 |
| Brenda Arredondo | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (915) 373-1483 |

ABOUT THE NATIONAL HISPANIC LEADERSHIP AGENDA:
The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda is composed of 45 of the leading national and regional Latino civil rights and public policy organizations and other elected officials, and prominent Latinos Americans. NHLA coalition members represent the diversity of the Latino community – Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Latino Americans. NHLA’s mission calls for unity among Latinos around the country to provide the Latino community with greater visibility and a clearer, stronger influence in our country’s affairs. NHLA brings together Latino leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. For more information, please visit: www.nationalhispanicleadership.org.

NHLA MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS:
Alianza Americas | American G.I. Forum | ASPIRA Association | Avance Inc. | Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network | Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute | Farmworker Justice | GreenLatinos | Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities | Hispanic Federation | Hispanic National Bar Association | Inter-University Program for Latino Research | Labor Council for Latin American Advancement | Latino Justice PRLDEF | League of United Latin American Citizens | MANA, A National Latina Organization | Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund | Mi Familia Vota | National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures | National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives | National Association of Hispanic Publications | National Day Laborer Organizing Network | NALEO Educational Fund | National Association of Latino Independent Producers | National Conference of Puerto Rican Women, Inc. | National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators | National Hispanic Council on Aging | National Hispanic Environmental Council | National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts | National Hispanic Media Coalition | National Hispanic Medical Association | National Institute for Latino Policy | National Latina/o Psychological Association | National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health | Presente.org | SER Jobs for Progress National | Southwest Voter Registration Education Project | UnidosUS | United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce | United States Hispanic Leadership Institute | United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce | U.S.- Mexico Foundation | Voto Latino