Congresswoman Garcia reintroduces American Dream and Promise Act
EAST ALDINE – Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia held a Town Hall last Tuesday evening at the Lone Star College East Aldine campus. About a 100 persons, including LSC Chancellor Mario Castillo were present, and heard presentations from “Dreamers,” students who had benefitted from the previous legislation known as the American Dream and Promise Act. As this act is due to end and not be renewed by the Administration, Garcia has reintroduced the bill in the current Legislature, with the hope to again provide opportunities. The purpose of the Town Hall was to garner support for her bill in the House.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29) reintroduced the bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act of 2025, alongside co-authors of the bill. The bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act would provide a pathway to citizenship to Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. It would also include recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) beneficiaries. The legislation has been cosponsored by 201 Members of Congress, including all the bill leads, and has been endorsed by nearly 120 organizations.
Dreamers have spent nearly their entire lives here in the United States. They have attended school, earned degrees, built careers, and contributed billions to our economy, all while calling this country home. Many have started families and raised children who are U.S. citizens. For example, it is estimated that the average DACA recipient came to this country at the age of six and has been here for 20 years. Likewise, TPS holders have been living and working in the United States for decades. They have built their families here and contribute significantly to their communities and our nation’s economy.
Dreamers and TPS recipients make major economic and fiscal contributions each year. DACA recipients pay approximately $6.2 billion in federal taxes and $3.3 billion in state and local taxes annually. The Center for American Progress estimates that the national GDP could grow by $799 billion over the next decade if Dreamers were provided a pathway to citizenship. Economic models show a pathway to citizenship would increase wages for all workers in the U.S. and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. It is estimated that DACA recipients in 2022 collectively earned nearly $27.9 billion and contributed nearly $2.1 billion to Social Security and Medicare, despite not being eligible for these benefits under current law.
“Dreamers are American in every way but on paper. For decades, they have contributed to and shaped the fabric of America. Yet, they are currently denied their place in the American story,” said Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia. “Our nation cannot afford to lose the small business owners, the talent, the artists, the aspiring public servants, and the drive that Dreamers bring. If that’s not American, I don’t know what is. The American Dream and Promise Act writes them into the American story — a part that has been missing for too long.”
“Twelve years ago, the Obama-Biden administration took a bold and necessary step by creating DACA to protect undocumented young people who were brought to this country as children through no fault of their own. This program has allowed more than 800,000 Dreamers to live, work, and contribute to their communities,” said Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez. “But for too long, courts have put their futures at risk, forcing them to live in uncertainty. That is why I was proud to be one of the original authors of the bipartisan Dream and Promise Act, a common-sense solution that will provide permanent protections and a path to citizenship for Dreamers and recipients of Temporary Protected Status. These are our neighbors, colleagues, and friends, and it is long past time we give them the security they deserve.
The bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act of 2025 would:
—Protect and grant eligible Dreamers conditional permanent residence for 10 years and cancel removal proceedings
—Provide a pathway to citizenship for eligible Dreamers by granting full Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status
—Provide individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforcement Departure (DED) with LP status
—Protect Dreamers and individuals with TPS or for relief under the American Dream and Promise Act
—Provide eligible Dreamers with access to federal financial aid–Allow eligible Dreamers located abroad to apply for relief
—Prevent penalizing states that grant in-state tuition to undocumented students based on residency
Before his inauguration, President Donald Trump indicated he wanted to work with Democrats to protect Dreamers and that Republicans were open to getting something done on this issue. Congresswoman Garcia and her colleagues extend an open invitation to President Trump to get this done by passing the bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act of 2025, which the American public strongly supports. Polls have consistently shown the majority of Americans support Republicans and Democrats working together on legislation that would enable Dreamers to earn legal status and eventual citizenship—that legislation is the bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act of 2025.
— Congesswoman Sylvia Garcia
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