7/26/26
Congress has a chance to take steps to protect hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are facing the likely prospect of job loss, arrest, and deportation after a Supreme Court decision last month empowered the Trump administration to dissolve the critical protections for nearly any reason. Beginning July 20, members of the U.S. House of Representatives can support a petition that would force a vote on the Dream and Promise Act, a bill that would provide millions of people with liminal immigration protections a path to permanent status.
Congressional action is more urgent than ever before given that the Trump administration is embarking on the largest de-legalization effortin U.S. immigration history. This has included stripping legal protections like Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from long-time immigrant residents and subjecting them to mass deportation. The Dream and Promise Act would offer protections and permanent status for people with TPS as well as most undocumented people who entered the country as children (known as Dreamers), recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and those with a protection known as Deferred Enforcement Departure (DED).
Announced in 2012, DACA is an agency policy that provides certain undocumented youth protection from deportation and access to work authorization. For 14 years, the initiative has provided critical protections for hundreds of thousands of its beneficiaries while receiving overwhelming public support. However, since 2025, the Trump administration has detained and deported over 260 DACA recipients, in addition to pursuing several strategies to dismantle the long-standing policy through the federal courts.