Today, Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) signed a bipartisan discharge petition to force a long-overdue vote on the House Floor to protect America’s Dreamers.

“Thanks to a cruel act by Donald Trump and inaction by this Republican Congress, Dreamers have been living under a cloud of fear and uncertainty,” said Rep. Pascrell.  “I am energized to support bipartisan action to force a vote on legislation that would ensure Dreamers can be officially welcomed into the fold and continue to enrich our nation.”

With enough bipartisan support, the discharge petition would force a House vote on four different immigration proposals. Specifically, the full House would debate as amendments the “Securing America’s Future Act” (H.R.4760), the bipartisan “Dream Act of 2017” (H.R.3440), the bipartisan “USA Act of 2018” (H.R.4796), and an immigration bill of Speaker Paul Ryan’s choosing. In the vote series of the four proposals, the amendment receiving the highest number of votes exceeding 218 would be adopted by the House under the “queen-of-the-hill” rule.

“I am confident that a DREAM Act will pass overwhelmingly if brought to the House floor. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to sign this discharge petition, so we can safeguard the hopes, dreams, and futures of these young individuals who are Americans in every way except on paper,” Rep. Pascrell said.

Rep. Pascrell is a cosponsor of the bipartisan H.R. 3440, Dream Act of 2017, which would offer a path to permanent legal status for millions of undocumented immigrant youths, including DACA recipients.