NYCLU Welcomes White House Action, Calls on Congress to Pass DREAM Act

In response to the Obama administration’s announcement today that it will grant eligible young, undocumented immigrants two years of immunity from deportation subject to renewal, the New York Civil Liberties Union issued the following statement attributable to NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman:

“This announcement represents a good step towards an immigration policy that respects families and allows all New Yorkers to contribute and become part of our society. Children ought to be judged on how they behave and what they do, not on the accident of where they were born or the actions of their parents.

“We continue to urge Congress and the White House to work to fix our nation’s broken immigration system through comprehensive reform. They should follow up today’s exciting announcement by enacting the DREAM Act, common sense legislation that would carry this new policy a step further by giving a generation of hardworking and talented young people the opportunity to go to college and pursue citizenship.”