For Immediate Release: February 24, 2026
Contact: Michael Earls at [email protected]
Gaby Pacheco Issues New “State of the Dreamers” Address
Watch Gaby Pacheco’s State of the Dreamers video HERE and read full transcript below
Washington, DC – In a new video released today, TheDream.US President & CEO Gaby Pacheco issues a “State of the Dreamers” address, noting that 25 years after the Dream Act was first introduced, Dreamers’ prospects “of studying and succeeding and fully contributing to this nation – is becoming harder for many Dreamers” and calling for the passage of the bipartisan Dream Act to “ensure stability, certainty, and justice for Dreamers and for the nation.”
As Pacheco states, “there’s a simple question we should ask ourselves: what type of country do we want to be? What type of America do we want to build? One that recognizes Dreamers as valuable parts of American communities and America’s future?
Or one that thinks the right way forward for America involves arresting and detaining and targeting Dreamers or denying them opportunities and protections to fully participate in the nation they have grown up in? I stand with the vast majority of Americans who have already decided and overwhelmingly support Dreamers’ futures in this country.”
Watch Gaby Pacheco’s “State of the Dreamers” video address HERE and find a full transcript of the address below:
“Thank you for tuning in to the State of the Dreamers. I am Gaby Pacheco, a former Dreamer and the President and CEO of TheDream.US.
Twenty five years ago, the bi-partisan Dream Act was first introduced. Twenty five years of promises. Twenty five years of hearings. Twenty five years of delays.
For two decades since the Dream Act was introduced, Dreamers have lived in a country we love, contributing to every corner of American life, yet denied full certainty under the law.
Today, we speak not of the distant future. We speak of the urgency of now.
Dreamers are living in limbo. Dreamers are uncertain. Dreamers are at risk.
There are too many stories like those of Caroline Dias Goncalves, a 20-year-old TheDream.US Scholar who was detained by ICE in Colorado last summer.
Caroline, who will be a guest of Senator John Hickenlooper’s at tonight’s State of the Union, said after her release from ICE custody: “We’re not asking for anything special. Just a fair chance to feel safe and to keep building the lives we’ve worked so hard for in the country we call home”
Like Caroline, who has lived in the U.S. since age 7, the average age our 12,000+ TheDream.US Scholars came to this nation as elementary school children – less than 5 years of age.
Like Caroline, Dreamers have grown up in America, thrived in K-12 Schools, and want to study and succeed and contribute fully to this nation.
Yet that prospect – of studying and succeeding and fully contributing to this nation – is becoming harder for many Dreamers.
Each year, 75,000 Dreamers graduate high school
… but they are now facing new restrictions on accessing and affording higher education
Every day, a small subset of Dreamers rely on the popular and successful DACA program for opportunities. More than 9 out of 10 DACA recipients are employed, including in fields like nursing and teaching, and DACA recipients contributed billions to our economy and our communities …
…But most Dreamers today lack DACA, including three in four Dreamers in college today who have no protections and around 100,000 have been blocked from receiving DACA.
Yet we also remember that DACA has never been the solution or end goal – it is temporary; fragile; incomplete.
In my job as President & CEO of TheDream.US, I am constantly hearing from Dreamers. Unfortunately, every day, young people are waking up wondering: Can I work legally? Can I stay with my family? Can I finish my education? Can I give back to my country, my home, the United States of America?
Hundreds of thousands of people who once had protection are now fully vulnerable. Families are living with uncertainty. Students cannot plan their futures. Communities risk losing the contributions of those who have long been part of the American fabric.
We cannot allow temporary or expired protections to define the destiny of people who already belong. We cannot promise opportunity to some while leaving others behind. The Dream Act is the way to ensure stability, certainty, and justice for Dreamers and for the nation.
Along with Caroline, it’s fitting that another guest at the State of the Union address tonight will be Tereza Lee – the original Dreamer whose story so inspired Senator Dick Durbin that he drafted the original bipartisan Dream Act 25 years ago.
We know with certainty that when Dreamers like Tereza receive opportunities, they go on to do great things – Tereza received a doctorate and has become a beloved teacher. And at TheDream.US, more than half of our working Alumni are either in Education fields, or are working in Health and Medicine or business fields. They are business owners, community leaders, and some are even parents.
Yet without permanent status and protection, their futures and the futures of those who rely on Dreamers are endangered.
Then and now, there’s a simple question we should ask ourselves: what type of country do we want to be? What type of America do we want to build?
One that recognizes Dreamers as valuable parts of American communities and America’s future?
Or one that thinks the right way forward for America involves arresting and detaining and targeting Dreamers or denying them opportunities and protections to fully participate in the nation they have grown up in?
I stand with the vast majority of Americans who have already decided and overwhelmingly support Dreamers’ futures in this country – including 85% of Americans who support Dreamers’ citizenship in a 2025 Gallup poll.
As President Trump noted after winning his re-election: “We have to do something about Dreamers… Some of them are running small businesses. They’ve become successful.” And most recently in Jan. He said, that he would “love to be able to do something for them”.
Twenty-five years after the Dream Act was first introduced, the story of Dreamers is one of resilience. The story of Dreamers is one of courage. The story of Dreamers is one of unwavering hope.
But hope without action is not enough.
Dreamers have given this country their talent, their labor, and their courage.
Now it is America’s turn to give them certainty, opportunity, and justice.
The State of the Dreamers in this moment is unfair and unworthy of our country — and no young person who grew up pledging allegiance to our flag should have to grow up fearing it.
It’s time to act to pass the bipartisan Dream Act: for all Dreamers, for our communities, and for the future of our nation.”
About TheDream.US
TheDream.US is the nation’s leading organization supporting Dreamers at the intersection of higher education, workforce development, immigration, and advocacy. We’ve awarded over 12,000 scholarships to immigrant youth from 120+ countries and 45 states, with 4,500 graduates to date. We partner with close to 80 colleges in 20 states and Washington D.C. to provide scholarships, career support, and access to legal options that help Dreamers break through systemic barriers and achieve social mobility.
Through data, Scholar and Alumni stories, strategic partnerships, and targeted state and local advocacy, we work to expand equitable access to college, professional pathways, and permanent legal status. For more information on TheDream.US, visit www.thedream.us
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