Senators Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham Take First Step Towards Protecting Immigrant Community with Bridge Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced legislation called the the Bridge Act that would offer “provisional protected presence” and employment authorization to people who currently have DACA and those eligible who have not yet applied.

Sen. Durbin said the Bridge Act should be later replaced with broader immigration reform.

The following is a statement from Ben Monterroso, executive director of Mi Familia Vota:

“This legislation is a step in the right direction to protect the DACA program which President-elect Donald Trump has had in his sights to end. The bill protects the more than 741,000 DACA recipients from deportation and economic uncertainty.

This week, what we’ve heard from Trump is that he hopes to ‘work something out’ with people with DACA. Although we hope this reflects his recognition that during his campaign he furthered proposals that neither facts nor public opinion align with, we cannot be certain while he surrounds himself with xenophobes like Stephen Bannon and Kris Kobach.

People with DACA have the support of the American public. And people with DACA, family members who qualified for the expansion of DACA and DAPA, and people without any authorized status have been waiting for years for a way to fully incorporate into civic life through comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship.

We will have to wait and see what actions Congress takes with the Bridge Act or after January 20th to see what the Trump Administration truly has in store beyond rhetoric. In the end, we know the real solution is comprehensive immigration reform that reflects our values and keeps our families together.”