WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) today applauded the House passage of H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act. The legislation would provide a path to lawful, permanent residence status and eventual citizenship for Dreamers who meet certain conditions, including completing higher education, serving in the military or holding a job. It also provides a path to lawful, permanent residence status and eventual citizenship for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) holders.

“Dreamers and TPS recipients are essential members of communities across the country, working and living alongside us all. Dreamers don’t just call America home, it is their home – and in many cases it’s the only one they can remember,” Sewell said. “Thousands of Dreamers living in Alabama, like Gadsden City High School graduate Fernanda Herera and Samford University graduate Roshell Rosales, were brought to the United States as children. Today we know them as neighbors, coworkers, students and military service members, but, above all, they are Alabamians. I am proud to vote today to provide them with a stable path to citizenship.”

The Dream and Promise Act offers a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS and DED holders who have spent much of their lives in the United States. Alabama is home to over 10,000 immigrants who are eligible for protection under this legislation.

Alabama Dreamers who are eligible for protection under H.R. 6 arrived in the United States at the age of eight, on average, and have grown up calling the United States home. TPS- and DED-eligible immigrants in Alabama, who would be eligible for protection under the Dream and Promise Act have, on average, lived in the United States since 1997. TPS and DED are programs aimed at protecting individuals whose countries of origin are experiencing ongoing armed conflict, natural disasters or other conditions that prohibit them from safely returning to their native countries.

The Dream and Promise Act provides vital protections for up to 2.5 million immigrants across the country. Without permanent protections like those outlined in this legislation, these immigrants’ and their families’ futures in the United States – and the fiscal and economic contributions they make – are at risk.