WASHINGTON — More than 1,000 high school students participating in the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Advocacy Institute gathered on Capitol Hill on July 27 to urge Congress to advance the Dream and Promise Act, warning that millions of longtime U.S. residents face growing uncertainty as Temporary Protected Status protections are rolled back.
Students from nearly every state, along with Puerto Rico, joined ACLU affiliate leaders in meetings with lawmakers to advocate for permanent legal protections for Dreamers and recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler stated, “The AFL-CIO is proud to come together with the ACLU and stand with Dreamers, TPS holders, and every immigrant worker and family in this country. Their fight is our fight.”
According to a recent ACLU press release, the event was the organization’s largest lobbying effort in its history and the largest national advocacy event focused on citizenship legislation since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.
The release said the advocacy campaign was prompted by an immigration policy backed by the Trump administration and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller that seeks to end Temporary Protected Status for more than 1 million people.
Hundreds of thousands of TPS holders have already lost their protections in recent weeks, according to the ACLU. The organization said the policy places many at risk of deportation and described it as “the largest de-documentation project in American history.”
According to the ACLU, advocates visited more than 400 congressional offices, including more than 165 Republican offices, 230 Democratic offices and three independent offices. Students joined ACLU affiliate leaders in urging lawmakers to pass the Dream and Promise Act to provide permanent legal protections for Dreamers and individuals currently protected under TPS and DED.
Deirdre Schifeling, the ACLU’s chief political and advocacy officer, stated, “Students are a force to be reckoned with.”
Students brought informational materials and handwritten postcards describing concerns about federal immigration enforcement while outlining the ACLU’s vision for an immigration system that provides permanent protections for immigrant families.
Shuler also praised the students for participating in the advocacy effort, saying, “Students using their voices and power to stand up for their classmates, for families, for people they care about — it matters.”
According to a press release from U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, and the ACLU, the congressional visits and Capitol Hill rally preceded Garcia’s filing of a discharge petition in the House of Representatives.
If at least 218 House members sign the petition, it would force a vote on the American Dream and Promise Act and bring the legislation to the House floor for consideration.
The process bypasses the normal committee process, and the ACLU said the bill is the first and only major citizenship legislation expected to receive a vote during the current session of Congress.
The ACLU also announced the launch of an online advocacy campaign allowing constituents to contact their representatives and encourage support for both the discharge petition and the Dream and Promise Act.
The organization said the platform is intended to increase public engagement and demonstrate widespread support for legislation providing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS recipients and DED holders.
Shuler also said, “People in power want to convince us that someone who was born somewhere else is somehow our competition,” emphasizing the labor movement’s support for immigrant workers and their families. “But in the labor movement, we know that immigrants make our communities stronger.”
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