Washington, DC— Children’s advocates across the country are applauding the reintroduction of the bipartisan Dream Act of 2025, unveiled today by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The bill would provide a long-awaited pathway to citizenship for people brought to the United States as children—many of whom have lived in legal limbo for more than a decade.
The legislation arrives at a moment of heightened uncertainty for immigrant youth as court challenges to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program continue and reports of unlawful arrests of DACA recipients spark growing concern. Advocacy organizations say the Dream Act is urgently needed to deliver a permanent solution for hundreds of thousands of families who have built their lives in communities across the United States.
Members of the Children Thrive Action Network (CTAN), a coalition of national children’s advocacy and service organizations, voiced strong support for the bill.
Wendy Cervantes, Director of Immigration and Immigrant Families at the Center for Law and Social Policy, emphasized the deep roots that DACA recipients and undocumented young people have established in the United States. “They are parents, breadwinners, homeowners, entrepreneurs, caregivers, educators, and integral members of our communities,” she said. “Facing indiscriminate detention and deportation tactics, these young people are in urgent need of long overdue legislation that will allow them to secure their futures. As advocates for children, we urge Senators to support the Dream Act now.”
Liza M. Davis, Advocacy Director for Children in Immigrant Families at The Children’s Partnership, highlighted the impact on family stability. “Nearly 1 in 4 DACA recipients is a parent,” she noted, warning that continued attacks on DACA undermine children’s housing, nutrition, and emotional security. “When parents and caregivers are protected, children thrive. Now is the time for Congress to protect DACA families and pass a permanent solution.”
Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Executive Director of Children’s HealthWatch, pointed to research showing the strengths and resilience of immigrant families with young children. “Many DACA recipients are now parents,” she said. “Creating a pathway to citizenship helps provide the foundation for health that all young children need. Removing barriers to full participation ensures these families can contribute to the prosperity and well-being of the nation they already call home.”
Martin Kim, Director of Immigration Advocacy at Advancing Justice | AAJC, underscored the importance of the bill for Asian American and Pacific Islander youth. More than 14,000 AAPI young people have benefited from DACA since its inception, and an estimated 100,000 more were eligible but never received it. “These integral members of our community have been denied permanent relief for far too long,” he said. “The Dream Act would provide the permanency that these communities demand and deserve.”
CTAN, founded in 2020, works to ensure that immigration policy prioritizes the health, safety, and well-being of children in immigrant families. The network continues to call on lawmakers to uphold the best interests of the child in all federal and state policy decisions.
As Congress prepares to consider the Dream Act of 2025, children’s advocates say the stakes could not be higher: the futures of families, communities, and hundreds of thousands of young people hang in the balance.
