For Immediate Release: January 11, 2018
Contact: Michael Earls at 202-494-8555 and [email protected]
TheDream.US Scholars Offer 3,000 Powerful Examples of Why Congress Should Resolve Crisis Facing DREAMers and TPS Holders
Washington, DC – TheDream.US, the nation’s largest college access and success program for undocumented immigrant youth, today issued the following statement calling on Congress to pass legislation resolving the crisis facing DREAMers and TPS holders.
The organization, which has provided more than 3,000 scholarships to students with DACA and TPS at more than 70 partner colleges in 15 states, believes that all young people, regardless of where they were born, should have the opportunity to fulfill their potential, gain an education, and fully participate in the country that they call home. To date, the organization has committed more than $103 million in scholarship money for DREAMers.
According to Candy Marshall, President of TheDream.US: “We have 3,000 powerful examples of why passing legislation resolving the crisis facing DREAMers and TPS holders will be good for America. In more than 70 partner colleges across 15 states, our Scholars have a demonstrated record of succeeding in the classroom and contributing to their campus community and well beyond. What is good for these remarkable young people is good for America – we all benefit from DREAMers studying on our campuses, thriving in our workplaces, and contributing to our communities.”
TheDream.US Scholars have thrived academically on their campuses, with National Scholars averaging a 3.2 GPA and Opportunity Scholars averaging a 3.56 GPA, compared to the 3.15 average GPA students achieve at public and private colleges across the country. Additionally, TheDream.US Scholars have demonstrated amazing persistence, with 94% of Scholars returning to their schools after their first year, compared to the 72% average rate of return after first year for students at all U.S. colleges and universities.
A legislative solution for DREAMers is both achievable and urgently needed in the aftermath of the decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA recipients are already losing their status, their ability to work and study on campuses, and their accompanying protections from detention and deportation. Additionally, the decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 200,000 Salvadorans, as well as earlier TPS terminations affecting tens of thousands Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Sudanese TPS holders, should compel Congress to provide a permanent legislative solution for these newly vulnerable people who, like DACA recipients, have been living and contributing to America.
DREAMers have grown up in America and have the talents, skills, and energy to move our communities and country forward. It’s time for Congress to work together in bipartisan fashion to deliver legislation that resolves their status and, in the process, benefits American values and our national interests.
- Read through a story bank of TheDream.US Scholars here
- Find out more about TheDream.US here
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