National Civil Rights Organization supports American Dream and Promise Act of 2019, Opposes Migrant Criminalizing

Statement in Support of H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019, Opposition on Motion to Recommit 

WASHINGTON – Advancement Project National Office issues the following statement on H.R. 6 legislation.  

 “Advancement Project National Office supports H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019, the most comprehensive immigration bill addressing the needs of immigrant youth and people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). However, we oppose any efforts to expand the criminalization already in the bill and oppose any Motion to Recommit.  

“This legislation provides permanent protections and a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth and individuals with TPS and DED. TPS holders include individuals from Haiti, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nicaragua, Nepal, and El Salvador. Currently, Liberia is the only country granted DED. Over 2 million people lost temporary protections in the last two years as the administration worked its way through its xenophobic wish list of a racial purge. 

“While we support this legislation, we also acknowledge that many immigrant youth would not benefit from this legislation because of the problematic dichotomy between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ immigrants in the legislation. There is no acknowledgement of the over-policing of communities of color and implicit bias in the criminal legal system resulting in overrepresentation of Black and Brown people in jails, prisons, gang databases, and immigration detention. Lastly, we believe in a fundamental right to migration that is not contingent on education, military service, or economic contributions.  

“The long-term vision we have is a country where migration is decriminalized.”