Bipartisan push to shield about 250,000 Dreamers from deportation

A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday introduced the America’s CHILDREN Act, a bill aimed at shielding roughly 250,000 Dreamers from deportation under the current immigration climate and providing a pathway to citizenship for long-term residents who arrived in the United States as children. The legislation, a renewed iteration of efforts to stabilize status for Dreamers, would focus on individuals who are dependents of migrant parents and who have otherwise demonstrated a commitment to the United States.

Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., who co-authored the original DREAM Act with the late Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, announced the new measure in the upper chamber. Durbin is joined by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in sponsoring the America’s CHILDREN Act. The bill’s formal title aims to encapsulate its goals for long-term dependents raised and educated in the United States, with a stated intention of offering a pathway to lawful status and eventual citizenship.

Durbin said the proposal embodies a bipartisan desire to fix what he described as a dysfunctional immigration system that has left many Dreamers in legal limbo. He noted that Dreamers are often Americans in practice—contributing to communities and the economy—but face the risk of losing their status due to backlogs and administrative delays. The bill arrives as part of a broader debate over how to address asylum policies, border management, and the status of long-term migrants amid competing political pressures.

Dreamers, as described by supporters, include those who were brought to the United States as children and have grown up under U.S. laws and norms. A key component highlighted by sponsors is the risk that some could “age out” of eligibility for status due to delays in issuing work authorization or green cards caused by the longstanding backlog in the legal immigration system. Rep. Deborah Ross, D-N.C., who has supported related legislation, noted that the Child Status Protection Act and other backlogs have left many beneficiaries without a timely path to permanent residency, effectively aging them out of eligibility.

Padilla, who was detained by federal agents during a disruption of a DHS briefing earlier this year, described the people the bill would help as “Americans in every way except one” because their parents’ green cards are tied up in regulatory red tape. Paul, along with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, emphasized that Dreamers are productive members of communities and the economy and should not be penalized for failures in the immigration system. Paul said the act would target relief to merit-based immigrants who are at risk of aging out and facing separation from the only country many have known.

Other Republican backers include Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Rep. John Rutherford of Florida, and Sens. John Curtis of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine. The group’s bipartisan makeup signals a willingness to explore targeted fixes even as broader immigration legislation remains contentious in Congress.

The push comes amid a broader political moment in which the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has spurred calls for asylum fixes and protections for longtime migrants. Backlogs in the family- and employment-based immigration systems, along with the Child Status Protection Act’s limitations, have been cited as impediments to timely adjudication of green-card eligibility for young people who grew up in the United States.

While the bill aims to formalize a path to citizenship for Dreamers, its fate in a still-divided Congress remains uncertain. Proponents hope that a narrow, targeted approach—focused on individuals with established ties to the United States and a demonstrated record of contribution—could attract enough votes to advance, even as broader immigration reform remains stalled. The act would require additional policy detail and negotiations on eligibility, timelines, and potential safeguards against fraud or abuse, as well as funding allocations for implementation.

As the sponsor coalition framed the measure, the goal is not to rewrite the entire immigration system but to address specific injustices faced by Dreamers who arrived as children and have grown up as part of American communities. The legislation aligns with ongoing discussions about how to balance border security with humanitarian and economic considerations, particularly in states with large populations of immigrant families.

If advanced, the America’s CHILDREN Act would mark a notable case of cross-partisan collaboration on immigration policy, emphasizing concrete relief for a defined group of long-standing residents. For now, supporters say the bill signals a recognition that the United States benefits from stable, lawful status for Dreamers who have proven their commitment to the country.