64 Democrats Call on President Obama to Pardon DREAMers with DACA

Video and Photo Links Below

Washington, DC – Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-IL) was joined by more than a dozen of his House Democratic colleagues at a press conference this morning where a new letter to President Obama, signed by 64 Members of Congress, was released.  The letter asks President Obama to “exercise your Constitutional authority to provide pardons to young people who are American in every way but on paper.”  A presidential pardon for DREAMers with DACA, those brought to the United States as children who signed up for the President’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative, could make it harder for President Donald Trump to deport them and could open up for certain DREAMers a path to legal status under current law. 

Last month, in response to a similar plea from Rep. Gutiérrez and his two key pro-immigrant allies – Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) – the White House rejected the pardon idea by stating the President could not grant legal status and that pardons are primarily used for criminal violations, not civil violations of immigration law.  But the three lawmakers, joined by scores of House colleagues, are pushing back, saying in the new letter:

The Constitution specifically does not limit the pardon power to criminal offenses.  We ask for the narrow reprieve of a retroactive and prospective pardon of categorical civil immigration violations for a unique group of young immigrants who have placed their trust in both you as their President and us as their lawmakers.  To be clear we are not asking you to “create legal status.”

In his remarks at the press conference, Rep. Gutiérrez said:

We fought our own President for the [DACA] initiative and we fought hard.  We have a responsibility to stand with the DREAMers and we feel the President has a responsibility to stand with us and with the DREAMers.  The message [to President-elect Donald Trump] is simple, if you come for DREAMers, if you come for immigrant families, if you register Muslims, if you put in motion plans to deport millions and try to shut down or eliminate legal immigration, you will have to go through House Democrats and we are standing together.

Reps. Gutiérrez, Lofgren and Roybal-Allard led the letter, which was signed by 64 Democrats in total.  The full text of the letter to President Obama is here:  120716 Letter to Obama with Signatures.pdf

In addition to Rep. Gutiérrez, Reps. Lofgren and Roybal-Allard spoke at the press conference.  They were joined at the press conference by Democratic colleagues Joaquin Castro (TX), Judy Chu (CA), David Cicilline (RI), Raul Grijalva (AZ), Grace Napolitano (CA), Beto O’Rourke (TX), Jared Polis (CO), Mike Quigley (IL), Dina Titus (NV), Norma Torres (CA), and Juan Vargas (CA).

Photos of the press conference can be found below.

A video of the press conference is here (courtesy of the Democratic Caucus): https://youtu.be/DE2iJ22TPRY

During the press conference, Rep. Gutiérrez was asked to respond to comments by President-elect Trump to Time Magazine apparently regarding the disposition of DREAMers after Trump takes office.  The question and answer can be found here: https://youtu.be/DE2iJ22TPRY?t=37m37s

Rep. Gutiérrez represents the Fourth District of Illinois, is a Member of the Judiciary Committee and is the Co-Chair of the Immigration Task Force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

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