Credit: Architect of the Capitol(WASHINGTON) — Fifteen protesters were arrested on Capitol Hill Thursday for calling on lawmakers to replace the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that the Trump administration said it would dissolve.
Hundreds of protesters gathered inside the Hart Senate Building Thursday morning chanting “Dream Act now…Dream Act now” in hopes of persuading members of Congress to act on the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Protesters were holding banners to pressure Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, to pass legislation in support of so-called Dreamers. The banners were seen hanging on the upper floors of the Hart Senate Building.
The Trump administration announced in September it was terminating the DACA program, which allowed children who were brought to the U.S. illegally to remain in the country and be eligible for work permits if they meet certain requirements.
The program was implemented under the Obama administration.
Twenty GOP House members also urged Ryan to act on immigration legislation that could protect the nearly 800,000 Dreamers.
The lawmakers said efforts to grant such deportation protection can easily pass the House if GOP members joined Democrats to back any immigration bill.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she does not intend to have Democrats leave for the year without a Dreamer bill set in stone.
“I have to see what the spending bill is, I fully intend we will not leave here without the Dream Act passed,” Pelosi said.
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