WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, Nov. 16, DACA recipients from across the country will join a fly-in hosted by FWD.us in Washington D.C. to meet with Members of Congress and urge them to pass permanent legislative protections for Dreamers, before the end of the year in the lame duck session. Fly-in participants will unite to advocate on behalf of hundreds of thousands DACA recipients and Dreamers, and for their families and communities; they will join hundreds of advocates from across the country coming to DC next week to make their case directly to Members of Congress about the urgent need to pass legislation this year.

DACA recipients participating in the fly-in will be coming from nearly 30 states, including New York, Texas, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and more. They represent a broad range of career fields, including working as teachers, healthcare workers, and small business owners – each integral to the communities they serve. Without urgent action from Congress, DACA recipients like these fly-in participants will be at risk of losing their protections, potentially being pushed out of the workplace, and cruelly separated from their families. This would have devastating effects on millions of families and would hurt the U.S economy as it continues to recover.

“It is inspiring to see DACA recipients from across the country travel to Washington, D.C. to advocate for themselves and for hundreds of thousands of young people, all while grappling with the extreme uncertainty of our future in this country,” said Maria Praeli, Government Relations Manager at FWD.us. “The undocumented community continues to persevere despite all the challenges we face. For years, we’ve shown our resilience as we’ve fought for our families and communities, and we are still waiting for Congress to pass legislation that would provide all of us with permanent relief – but now, with DACA at risk, it is more urgent than ever that Congress act to pass a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers before the end of this year.”

For more background on DACA and what’s at stake, please read:

FWD.us Report: What Happens if DACA Ends?
The Current State of DACA: Challenges Await in Litigation and Rulemaking – National Immigration Forum