The U.S. House should welcome the Senate’s passage of a budget resolution that includes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented young adults brought to the U.S. as children, also known as Dreamers.
The House already passed a pathway to citizenship through the American Dream and Promise Act in March, so it should be a no-brainer for it to pass the Senate’s version.
Dreamers are as American as those of us who were born here. Some have no idea they lack legal documentation until they try to obtain a driver’s license or apply for college. With a pathway to citizenship, they would be attend school, work, and/or serve in the military without fear of deportation.
Voters on both sides of the aisle strongly agree that Dreamers should be allowed to stay in the U.S. Three-quarters of Republicans support allowing Dreamers to work and go to school in the U.S., including two-thirds of former President’s Trump supporters. President Trump himself has said that Dreamers are “good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military,” and “have been in our country for many years.”
The Senate budget resolution’s inclusion of a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers will offer a helping hand to a small group of young people who came to this country under extenuating circumstances, have spent years contributing to their communities, and know no other home but the U.S.
Congress should pass this common sense bill through reconciliation as soon as possible.
Jim Handy, Lewiston
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