Full Text of HJR0027 101st General Assembly
HJ0027 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, For nearly two decades, the U.S. Congress has time | 3 | | and time again failed to pass the Dream Act or
comprehensive | 4 | | immigration reform that would protect and empower individuals | 5 | | who were brought into the
United States illegally as minors; | 6 | | and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, In 2011, the State of Illinois took matters into | 8 | | their own hands and enacted the Illinois Dream Act,
which | 9 | | granted in-state tuition and access to privately funded | 10 | | scholarships to undocumented young people
who, among other | 11 | | things, had received a high school diploma or equivalent in the | 12 | | State; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, In 2015, after yet another failure by Congress to | 14 | | pass comprehensive immigration reform, former
President Barack | 15 | | Obama signed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) | 16 | | program to temporarily
shield these so called DREAMers from | 17 | | deportation; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, The DACA program has allowed over 800,000 young | 19 | | people, of which 42,376 are Illinois residents,
the ability to | 20 | | fundamentally enrich the social and cultural character of the | 21 | | State of Illinois and, thus, of our
nation; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, A 2016 report by the Center for American Progress | 2 | | found that more than 60% of DACA recipients
achieved financial | 3 | | independence, and 61% reported helping their families; in | 4 | | addition, DACA recipients
reported increased earnings by an | 5 | | average of 42%, and 70% of those in school with DACA are | 6 | | pursuing a
bachelor's degree or higher; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Despite these contributions to our society, on | 8 | | September 5, 2017, President Donald Trump and
Attorney General | 9 | | Jeff Sessions announced the end of the Deferred Action for | 10 | | Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
program; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Although the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has | 12 | | since blocked the Trump Administration's
immoral decision to | 13 | | end the DACA program, it is imperative that Congress acts to | 14 | | protect the inherent worth
of each of the 800,000 talented | 15 | | young Americans whose livelihood hangs by a thread; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois values and respects the | 17 | | inherent worth of every person, regardless of their
immigration | 18 | | status; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Federal legislation to protect DREAMers, placing | 20 | | all of the potentially immediately eligible
workers on a path | 21 | | to legal status, would add a total of $281 billion over 10 | 22 | | years to the U.S. gross domestic
product (GDP); therefore, be |
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| 1 | | it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 3 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 4 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we call on the One Hundred | 5 | | Sixteenth United
States Congress to uphold our country's | 6 | | founding values by passing the Dream Act, given that the | 7 | | unwavering
perseverance and resilience of immigrants have | 8 | | helped make the United States of America a beacon of
diversity, | 9 | | inclusivity, and opportunity; and be it further
| 10 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 11 | | delivered to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the
United | 12 | | States House of Representatives, the Majority and Minority | 13 | | Leader of the United States Senate, United
States Senator | 14 | | Richard J. Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, the chair of the | 15 | | Congressional Hispanic Caucus, all
members of the Illinois | 16 | | Congressional Delegation, and the President of the United | 17 | | States.
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