On Sept. 5 President Trump announced that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will end unless Congress acts to preserve it.

The DACA program allowed undocumented individuals who arrived in the United States before age 16 and had lived here since June 15, 2007, to stay, work and go to school in the United States without facing the risk of deportation for two years — with renewals available.

As many as 800,000 young people could be deported, including many students and educators. Known as Dreamers, they came to the United States as infants and young children and know no other country as home.

Many Dreamers and their families are long-time residents of Madison who have contributed greatly to the life of our community. This news has come as a severe blow to them, throwing them into unimaginable uncertainty about their future. Many Dreamers have no place to go outside of the U.S. should they be deported.

The City of Madison, Dane County and many thousands of residents have rallied around the Dreamers and their families, pledging support for Dreamers. In a press conference last month, Mayor Soglin said that the city would “certainly join forces with local leaders, local attorneys, local organizations and those nationally in legally challenging any effort made to compromise the program.”

By its action on Sept. 5, the Trump administration has essentially given Congress six months to save DACA. The Department of Homeland Security will continue to renew DACA permits for the time period through March 5, 2018.

The Dream Act of 2017 (S. 1615/H.R. 3440) grants legal status and establishes a fair and balanced pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.

If you agree, I urge you to contact U.S. Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin, as well as your U.S. Congressional Representative Mark Pocan:

• Senator Ron Johnson:
  (202) 224-5323
• Senator Tammy Baldwin:
  (202) 224-5653
• Representative Mark Pocan:
  (202) 225-2906