Activists plan to deliver petitions this week to the Painesville office of Rep. Dave Joyce, a Republican, as part of a national effort to keep the young immigrants known as DREAMers in the United States.
MoveOn.org and other advocates are pushing Congress to pass what they call a “clean DREAM Act,” a pathway to citizenship or legal status for young adults who were brought to the U.S. illegally when they were children and grew up here.
Jean Church, who will be delivering the petitions to Joyce, says it’s an issue of fairness as well as economics.
“They were brought here as children, and they’ve already established a life here,” Church says. “They work just like you and I. And they pay their taxes like you and I and they want to stay. This is the life they know.”
The advocates are objecting to moves by President Trump to set conditions on allowing the DREAMers to stay, including funding for a border wall. MoveOn also plans to present petitions to the Bowling Green office of Republican Rep. Bob Latta on Friday.
Both Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman have expressed support for immigration legislation, with Brown endorsing the DREAM Act.
Republican Ohio Reps. Steve Stivers and Pat Tiberi have signed on as co-sponsors of the alternative "Recognizing America’s Children Act," which offers extended protections and a path to legal status.
Here's Gov. John Kasich's response on CBS to President Trump's move on DREAMers.
