WASHINGTON, DC – FWD.us President Todd Schulte issued the following statement today on today’s Congressional votes:

Today represents a tragic missed opportunity for Congress to rise to the occasion and fight on behalf of Dreamers and the 86% of Americans who want Congress to protect Dreamers. Delaying protections for Dreamers means tens of thousands more individuals living in our communities will be ripped out of their jobs, separated from their families, and may be deported to countries they barely know.

The binary choice before every member of Congress has not changed: either they will pass bipartisan legislation to protect Dreamers, or they will watch as nearly 800,000 young people who grew up in our communities, prayed in our churches, and studied in our schools are systematically ripped out of the only country they know. Every day, every Member of Congress will have to look in the mirror and ask themselves what they did – or failed to do – to prevent the mass firings and mass deportation of Dreamers. Their actions and the results are what matter.

Republicans control the Senate. Republicans control the House. Republicans control the White House. The Republican President has – like the leaders of both chambers – repeatedly said he want to protect Dreamers. But until Speaker Ryan and Senator McConnell put bipartisan legislation to a vote, Dreamers will lose status and soon our nation will begin the large-scale deportation of DACA recipients.

The lives of Dreamers will be their hands and they will be judged by their actions and results between now and February 8th. We will win – and we will get legislation passed to protect Dreamers and will continue to fight for a bipartisan solution.

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Without congressional action, nearly 800,000 Dreamers could be fired from their jobs, ripped away from their families and deported from the only country they know as home. Among the Dreamers at risk of deportation is Esmeralda, a Dreamer from Kansas who moved to the United States as a two-year-old baby. She and her fiancé, Michael, are parents to a one-year-old baby girl who is a United States citizen. Michael is a U.S. Army soldier and is set to be deployed overseas next month. An ad highlighting Esmeralda’s story can be found here.