SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Hundreds of demonstrators were arrested on the steps of the Capitol building on Wednesday Dec. 6 while demanding that Congress pass a clean Dream Act to provide legal protections to undocumented people who came to the United States as children. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
In Pictures/Video: Hundreds Arrested in Peaceful Protest as Thousands March Demanding 'Clean' Dream Act
Immigrant rights advocates, including two members of Congress, arrested for demonstrating while DACA recipients share how many days they have left before possible deportation
Dec 06, 2017
As undocumented young people lose their temporary protected status and Republican lawmakers push for legislation that would ramp up deportations, an estimated 15,000 people marched on Capitol Hill Wednesday while hundreds--including two lawmakers--were arrested in a peaceful protest to demand that Congress pass a clean Dream Act.
The Dream Act, first introduced in Congress in 2001, would enable undocumented people who were brought to the United States as children and meet other criteria to remain in the United States legally. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, implemented by former President Barack Obama, was seen as a temporary fix until Congress could agree on legislation that addressed the status of this group.
Since the Trump admininstration announced in September its plans to phase out the DACA program--with no legislation in place to provide similar protections--immigrant rights advocates have increased the pressure on legislators to pass a bill that allows DACA recipients to remain in the country without including provisions that would target other undocumented immigrants, hence the term "clean" Dream Act.
The protesters also called for the administration to stop its rollback of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which is offered to citizens of certain countries impacted by war and violence or natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes. Last month, the Trump administration ended TPS protections for Haitians and Nicaraguans displaced by natural disasters, forcing thousands of legal residents to either leave the United States before their status expires or face deportation.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) addressed the crowd on Wednesday, with Gutierrez vowing to not vote for the budget unless it includes a clean Dream Act.
Gutierrez, Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), and national leaders of United Farm Workers were reportedly among the hundreds who were arrested for peacefully demonstrating on the steps of the Capitol building.
The group Popular Democracy said it was "one of the largest" acts of civil disobedience in the history of the U.S. immigrant rights movement.
Some marchers with DACA status shared the number of days they are legally allowed to remain in the U.S. before they will face possible deportation.
Those who were unable to march were urged to call their members of Congress to encourage them to pass a Dream Act for DACA recipients that is potentially more expansive than the terminated program and that does not endanger other immigrants who will not be eligible for protections.
Organizers and demonstrators shared photos and videos from the march with the hashtags #DreamActNow and #SaveTPS.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As undocumented young people lose their temporary protected status and Republican lawmakers push for legislation that would ramp up deportations, an estimated 15,000 people marched on Capitol Hill Wednesday while hundreds--including two lawmakers--were arrested in a peaceful protest to demand that Congress pass a clean Dream Act.
The Dream Act, first introduced in Congress in 2001, would enable undocumented people who were brought to the United States as children and meet other criteria to remain in the United States legally. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, implemented by former President Barack Obama, was seen as a temporary fix until Congress could agree on legislation that addressed the status of this group.
Since the Trump admininstration announced in September its plans to phase out the DACA program--with no legislation in place to provide similar protections--immigrant rights advocates have increased the pressure on legislators to pass a bill that allows DACA recipients to remain in the country without including provisions that would target other undocumented immigrants, hence the term "clean" Dream Act.
The protesters also called for the administration to stop its rollback of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which is offered to citizens of certain countries impacted by war and violence or natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes. Last month, the Trump administration ended TPS protections for Haitians and Nicaraguans displaced by natural disasters, forcing thousands of legal residents to either leave the United States before their status expires or face deportation.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) addressed the crowd on Wednesday, with Gutierrez vowing to not vote for the budget unless it includes a clean Dream Act.
Gutierrez, Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), and national leaders of United Farm Workers were reportedly among the hundreds who were arrested for peacefully demonstrating on the steps of the Capitol building.
The group Popular Democracy said it was "one of the largest" acts of civil disobedience in the history of the U.S. immigrant rights movement.
Some marchers with DACA status shared the number of days they are legally allowed to remain in the U.S. before they will face possible deportation.
Those who were unable to march were urged to call their members of Congress to encourage them to pass a Dream Act for DACA recipients that is potentially more expansive than the terminated program and that does not endanger other immigrants who will not be eligible for protections.
Organizers and demonstrators shared photos and videos from the march with the hashtags #DreamActNow and #SaveTPS.
As undocumented young people lose their temporary protected status and Republican lawmakers push for legislation that would ramp up deportations, an estimated 15,000 people marched on Capitol Hill Wednesday while hundreds--including two lawmakers--were arrested in a peaceful protest to demand that Congress pass a clean Dream Act.
The Dream Act, first introduced in Congress in 2001, would enable undocumented people who were brought to the United States as children and meet other criteria to remain in the United States legally. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, implemented by former President Barack Obama, was seen as a temporary fix until Congress could agree on legislation that addressed the status of this group.
Since the Trump admininstration announced in September its plans to phase out the DACA program--with no legislation in place to provide similar protections--immigrant rights advocates have increased the pressure on legislators to pass a bill that allows DACA recipients to remain in the country without including provisions that would target other undocumented immigrants, hence the term "clean" Dream Act.
The protesters also called for the administration to stop its rollback of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which is offered to citizens of certain countries impacted by war and violence or natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes. Last month, the Trump administration ended TPS protections for Haitians and Nicaraguans displaced by natural disasters, forcing thousands of legal residents to either leave the United States before their status expires or face deportation.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) addressed the crowd on Wednesday, with Gutierrez vowing to not vote for the budget unless it includes a clean Dream Act.
Gutierrez, Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), and national leaders of United Farm Workers were reportedly among the hundreds who were arrested for peacefully demonstrating on the steps of the Capitol building.
The group Popular Democracy said it was "one of the largest" acts of civil disobedience in the history of the U.S. immigrant rights movement.
Some marchers with DACA status shared the number of days they are legally allowed to remain in the U.S. before they will face possible deportation.
Those who were unable to march were urged to call their members of Congress to encourage them to pass a Dream Act for DACA recipients that is potentially more expansive than the terminated program and that does not endanger other immigrants who will not be eligible for protections.
Organizers and demonstrators shared photos and videos from the march with the hashtags #DreamActNow and #SaveTPS.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.