Durbin, Harris, Pressley Press Trump Administration On Reports That DHS Is Preparing Mass Deportations Of Dreamers

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) and U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07) today led a group of 36 Senators and 87 Representatives in pressing the Trump Administration on reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing mass deportations of Dreamers, young immigrants who grew up in the United States and know no other home. Many Dreamers have reported receiving notice that their deportation cases have recently been reopened. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a statement confirming that DACA deportation cases that had been administratively closed will be reopened and that this “is occurring nationwide and not isolated to a particular state or region.”

The Supreme Court is currently considering the legality of President Trump’s cruel repeal of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), with a decision expected by June.

“Only Congress can provide a permanent solution for Dreamers, but if the Supreme Court permits President Trump’s DACA repeal to stand, the fate of the Dreamers will be in your hands,” the members wrote in a letter to DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf. “It will be up to you whether to use DHS’s limited resources to deport these young immigrants who have benefitted America in countless ways through their talents, hard work, and service.”

Along with Durbin and Harris, today’s letter was also signed by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tom Carper (D-DE), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tom Udall (D-NM), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV).

Along with Rep. Pressley, the letter was also signed by U.S. Representatives Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ-03), Gwen Moore (D-WI-04), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-02), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12), Julia Brownley (D-CA-26), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA-29), Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX-29), Judy Chu (D-CA-27), Jahana Hayes (D-CT-05), Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY-05), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-03), Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-07), James P. McGovern (D-MA-02), Dina Titus (D-NV-01), Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13), David Trone (D-MD-06), Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. (D-CA-39), Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL-26), Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16), Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20), Jerold Nadler (D-NY-10), Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-IL-04), Jim Cooper (D-TN-05), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM-03), Karen Bass (D-CA-37), Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA-04), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13), Scott Peters (D-CA-25), Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA-38), Lori Trahan (D-MA-03), Alcee Hastings (D-FL-20), Grace Meng (D-NY-06), Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), Katherine Clark (D-MA-05), Al Green (D-TX-09), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-11), Bennie Thompson (D-MS-02), Danny K. Davis (D-IL-07), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-05), Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Deb Haaland (D-NM-01), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19), Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA-11), Darren Soto (D-FL-09), Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR-04), Joseph P. Kennedy, III (D-MA-04), Donna Shalala (D-FL-27), Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34), Ted Deutch (D-FL-22), Peter Welch (D-VT), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-08), TJ Cox (D-CA-21), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-23), Daniel T. Kildee (D-MI-05), Filemon Vela (D-TX-34), J. Luis Correa (D-CA-46), Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), Dwight Evans (D-PA-03), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY-09), Grace Napolitano (D-CA-32), Diana DeGette (D-CO-01), David N. Cicilline (D-RI-01), Eliot L. Engel (D-NY-16), Norma J. Torres (D-CA-35), John Yarmuth (D-KY-03), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA-47), Greg Stanton (D-AZ-09), Steve Horsford (D-NV-04), Adam Schiff (D-CA-28), Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA-18), Mike Thompson (D-CA-05), Juan Vargas (D-CA-51), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-20), and André Carson (D-IN-07).

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