For Immediate Release: June 15, 2021
Contact: Michael Earls: [email protected]
TheDream.US Submits Statement for the Record at “American Dream and Promise Act” Hearing
Washington, DC – Today, on the nine-year anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, TheDream.US President Candy Marshall submitted a statement for the record for the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on H.R. 6, the “American Dream and Promise Act of 2021.” The statement, available in full here, is excerpted below:
“We believe that DREAMers should have the opportunity to realize the American dream of obtaining a college education and contributing to the prosperity of our nation. Working with our partners, we provide scholarships to highly motivated DREAMers to help them pay for their college education.
Our approach is designed to scale and deliver relevant and sustainable impact … Approximately 1,700 undocumented students have graduated college—1,600 with a bachelor’s degree—after receiving a scholarship from TheDream.US.
H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act, would offer permanent protections for our current and future Scholars. In our 2021 Impact Report, we share that approximately 79% of our Scholars have DACA; 3% have TPS; and 18% are undocumented without DACA or TPS. This percentage will decrease each year as DREAMers “age out” of DACA. Among our newest cohort of incoming TheDream.US Scholars for the 2021-2022 academic year, only 23% report having DACA status.
…The American Dream and Promise Act will enable undocumented students like our Scholars to study and work with a sense of stability and the ability to adjust status and, eventually, naturalize. We at TheDream.US call on Congress to pass H.R. 6 as swiftly as possible to offer permanent legal protections to these valuable students and members of our communities.”
A recent video from TheDream.US features highlights from our recent virtual commencement celebrating the graduation of more than 1,000 TheDream.US Scholars from 77 Partner Colleges in 16 states, Washington, DC, and online. The video features remarks from TheDream.US graduate and alumni speakers as well as those of Dr. Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States, who was the guest speaker during the virtual commencement. The video concludes with a reminder that “America is stronger when DREAMers have opportunities to succeed.”
About TheDream.US
TheDream.US is the nation’s largest college and career success program for immigrant youth, having provided more than 7,500 college scholarships to DREAMers attending over 75 partner colleges in 19 states and Washington, DC. We believe that all young Americans, regardless of where they were born, should have the opportunity to get a college education and pursue a meaningful career that contributes to our country’s future.
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