Washington, DC, December 4, 2025—Today, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the bipartisan Dream Act of 2025, a bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for people who came to the United States with their families as children. As litigation against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program continues, and the federal government continues to make unlawful arrests of DACA recipients and other immigrant youth, this legislation is urgently needed to finally provide a permanent solution to hundreds of thousands of longstanding immigrants and their families.
Members of the Children Thrive Action Network (CTAN) issued the following statements:
Wendy Cervantes, Director of Immigration and Immigrant Families at the Center for Law and Social Policy: “For DACA recipients and immigrant youth, the United States is home. They were brought to this country as children and babies, and are now deeply rooted and fully contributing members of American society. They are parents, breadwinners, homeowners, entrepreneurs, caregivers, educators, and integral members of our communities. Facing the indiscriminate detention and deportation tactics of the federal government, both DACA recipients and undocumented young people are in urgent need of this long overdue legislation that will finally allow them to establish a secure future for themselves and their families. As advocates for children, we urge our Senators to support the Dream Act now.”
Liza M. Davis, Advocacy Director, Children in Immigrant Families, The Children’s Partnership: “The introduction of the bipartisan Dream Act of 2025 is a critical step toward protecting the health and stability of millions of children and families. The DACA program has provided more than 500,000 young people—nearly a third of whom live in California—with safety, legal work authorization, and the ability to support their families. Nearly 1 in 4 DACA recipients is a parent, meaning efforts to dismantle DACA directly undermine children’s housing, nutrition, and emotional security. Ongoing threats to DACA—and the harmful rhetoric targeted at immigrant communities—create fear and instability that research shows harms entire families, especially children, by increasing anxiety and toxic stress. When parents and caregivers are protected, children thrive. Now is the time for Congress to protect DACA families and pass a permanent solution.”
Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Executive Director, Children's HealthWatch: “Many DACA recipients are now parents of young children. Creating a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and their families recognizes the richness they bring to this country and helps provide the foundation for health that all young children need. Research by Children’s HealthWatch finds that immigrant families with young children have many characteristics associated with better health, including being more likely to live in a two-parent family, have at least one adult employed in the family, and have children born at a healthy weight. Children thrive when they have a stable environment—including strong attachments to their parents—and have all their basic needs met. Removing barriers to full participation in our communities through this legislation ensures that these families can fully contribute to the prosperity and well-being of the nation they already call home.”
Martin Kim, Director of Immigration Advocacy, Advancing Justice | AAJC: “When the DACA program was first announced, over 14,000 Asian American and Pacific Islander youth who were brought to the United States as children were able to secure a temporary form of status. Over more than a decade, Asian American and Pacific Islander DACA recipients, as well as other immigrant youth, have built a life here, with many even starting families. These integral members of our community, including about 100,000 AAPI individuals who were eligible for DACA but never received it, have been denied permanent relief for far too long. The Dream Act would provide the permanency that these communities demand and deserve. We urge Congress to support the Dream Act, more than a decade after DACA was first introduced.”
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