Forty+ Celebrities, Cultural Influencers Send Letter to Democratic Leadership Urging Them to ‘Uphold Your Promise’ to Protect Dreamers

By MoveOn Staff. Wednesday, December 20 2017

Signers include America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson, Jennifer Lawrence, Uzo Aduba, Scarlett Johansson, Kendrick Sampson, Don Cheadle, Mark Ruffalo, Sally Field, Aidy Bryant, Julianne Moore, Michael Pena, Shailene Woodley, and others.

** See the letter here: http://bit.ly/2oXjpHv

While negotiations on voting on Dream Act before the holidays are in peril, more than 40 high-profile celebrities and cultural influencers have joined together with leading immigrants rights and progressive organizations to call on Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi today, urging them to “use your power” and “uphold your promise” to force a vote on a clean Dream Act before leaving for the holidays.   

Calling on a “moral imperative” to pass the Dream Act, the signers include Hollywood actors, producers, writers, and other influencers from across the country, including Rosario Dawson, Jennifer Lawrence, Uzo Aduba, Kendrick Sampson, Don Cheadle, Sally Field, Aidy Bryant, Julianne Moore, Michael Pena, Shailene Woodley, Chris Evans, and others. Collectively, these artists reach tens of millions of people and are using their platforms to urge Congress to protect Dreamers before the end of the year.

“We sincerely thank you for your leadership in standing up for these young people, many of whom are serving our country as active military personnel, firefighters, EMTs, and nurses, as well as students, entrepreneurs, and others,” the letter reads. “These young people are making our country stronger and better, and Congress must act now to resolve this issue before the end of the year.”

The letter continues: “We value your promise to hold all the members of your caucus to vote on a clean Dream Act without harmful amendments, like a costly border wall, border militarization such as an increase in Border Patrol agents, additional immigration detention funding or increases in ICE agents, or other measures that undermine the spirit of this bill.”

** See the letter here. **

The American public, including Republicans, overwhelmingly support passage of a clean Dream Act. Polls show that nearly 90% of Americans support a permanent pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth who would be protected by the Dream Act. The economics are also favorable: According to estimates by the conservative Cato Institute and liberal Center for American Progress, the U.S. economy would lose between $283 and $460 billion if Dreamers were not allowed to stay. The Center for American Progress found that passing the Dream Act would boost the U.S. economy by up to $1 trillion.

The full text of the letter and list of signers are below:

December 20, 2017

Senator Charles E. Schumer
780 Third Avenue, Suite 2301
New York, NY 10017

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
233 Cannon H.O.B
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Senator Schumer and Representative Pelosi,

We, the undersigned, write to you with urgency about the need to protect the millions of immigrant youth, including recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, who are now living with the threat of losing their work permits and being deported.

We sincerely thank you for your leadership in standing up for these young people, many of whom are serving our country as active military personnel, firefighters, EMTs, and nurses, as well as students, entrepreneurs, and others. These young people are making our country stronger and better, and Congress must act now to resolve this issue before the end of the year.

Under your leadership, Democrats in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives have a moral imperative to make sure that the Dream Act (H.R. 3440/ S.1615) is included in the must-pass spending bills that are before Congress before the holidays. We value your promise to hold all the members of your caucus to vote on a clean Dream Act without harmful amendments, like a costly border wall, border militarization such as an increase in Border Patrol agents, additional immigration detention funding or increases in ICE agents, or other measures that undermine the spirit of this bill.

As we approach the holiday season, it is with great sadness that we think of the angst and fear that these young immigrants feel, faced with the threat of their lives being turned upside down. Approximately 22,000 DACA recipients will have lost their status and work permits by March because of Donald Trump’s egregious termination of DACA in September. Since that time, the anxiety of these young people and their families has been palpable.

We respectfully urge you to listen to members of senior party leadership, who have insisted that there must be no final spending bill that does not ensure that the Dreamers have a secure future here in the United States. This is a moral issue that demands action, without further delay. Dreamers and DACA recipients are an integral part of our country, so we are urging you to make sure that you use your power to get this done before leaving to spend the holidays with your own families. We understand that Democratic votes will be needed to pass a spending bill or continuing resolution to fund the government.

We ask you to uphold your promise to these Dreamers and the majority of the American people, who support these young people who are living in the worst kind of limbo, by ensuring that Dreamers are protected before Congress leaves for holiday recess this December.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Organizations


Center for Community Change
CREDO
Fair Immigration Reform Movement
Make The Road New York
MoveOn.org
United We Dream


Individuals


Uzo Aduba
Aidy Bryant
Gaius Charles
Don Cheadle
Rosario Dawson
Minnie Driver
Susie Essman
Chris Evans
Sally Field
Adam J. Foss
Judah Friedlander
Josh Gad
Tavi Gevinson
Ilana Glazer
Stephen Guirgis
Abbi Jacobson
Scarlett Johansson
Zoe Kazan
Hari Kondabolu
Jennifer Lawrence
Trace Lysette
David Manson
Julianne Moore
Kathy Najimy
Cynthia Nixon
Ellen Page
Michael Pena
Piper Perabo
Julie Plec
Bill Prady
Gina Rodriguez
Mark Ruffalo
Anthony Russo
Joe Russo
Kendrick Sampson
Susan Gad Schwartz
Alia Shawkat
Phillipa Soo
Fisher Stevens
Marisa Tomei
Ryan Piers Williams
Shailene Woodley

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