Rep. Hank Johnson, GA-04, speaks out for DACA recipients at a news conference at the Georgia State Capitol recently.
Like any young girl growing up in Rockdale County, Cinthya Moran, 17, always had a sense of comfort and security living in the friendly confines of metro Atlanta.
She made quick friendships in school, loved the neighborhood where she lived and celebrated life in the small-town South.
As an aspiring cardiovascular surgeon, Cinthya took her studies seriously – accumulating a 3.8 GPA by staying up nights and studying – pushing herself to work twice as hard.
But now her dreams of becoming a doctor could be shattered forever.
That’s because Cinthya is one of about 800,000 DREAMers nationwide – young children brought to this country by their parents.
Thanks to President Trump’s craven decision to reverse the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program or DACA, Cinthya’s contributions and those of hundreds of thousands of other DREAMers to our community and country could come to an end.
Make no mistake, Congress has to now fix this problem that Trump created. I’m hopeful that Republicans can come together with Democrats and pass the bipartisan DREAM Act.
Deporting DREAMers like Cinthya means destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands of patriotic young people, costing the economy billions and betraying the fundamental values of the American Dream.
Young DREAMers in communities across the country are Americans in every way except on paper – but the Trump Administration apparently wants to deport them to countries that many of them have never known.
Cinthya is in high school, dually enrolled and taking college courses. She is determined to prove that her contributions to our country are worthwhile and challenge the narrative that the undocumented community is a burden to society.
And Cinthya isn’t alone. DREAMers are models of what we hope our citizens become. They go to school, join the armed forces and become productive members of society. In Georgia, the rescission of DACA could mean that 24,000 people would be deported.
It is cruel to banish people to a strange land where oftentimes they don’t know the language or culture. It’s for constituents like Cinthya that I’m proud to join my Democratic colleagues in fighting to pass the DREAM Act.
Cinthya has the potential, vision and dedication to become a cardiovascular surgeon, but she wonders how she will be able to apply the knowledge and skills she has acquired “if I’m hiding away in fear of being taken back to a country I have no memory of?”
Let’s come together and give Cinthya and the hundreds of thousands of other DREAMers the safety, security and certainty they deserve so they can continue to contribute to America’s future.
Dreamers make our country richer and are part of our nation’s fabric. I know I would be proud to be the parent of any of these DREAMers.
Four times since the Trump Administration terminated DACA, House Democrats have moved to force an immediate vote on the DREAM Act – and four times, House Republicans have blocked an up or down vote.
DREAMers had the courage and patriotism to step out of the shadows and enroll in DACA.
It is time for House Republicans’ to have an up or down vote on the DREAM Act. Being on the right side of history outweighs partisan politics now more than ever.
Rep. Hank Johnson is a member of the Judiciary and Transportation & Infrastructure committees.
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