House Resolution 18 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 18 BY GAINES A Resolution urging Iowa’s congressional delegation to 1 support and the United States Congress to pass the 2 American Dream and Promise Act of 2019. 3 WHEREAS, on June 15, 2012, the United States 4 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that 5 it would not deport certain undocumented youth who 6 came to the United States as children and granted them 7 “deferred action”; and 8 WHEREAS, according to the United States Citizenship 9 and Immigration Services, 5,454 Iowans applied for this 10 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program 11 since its introduction and 3,100 Iowans received work 12 authorization and protection from deportation through 13 the DACA program; and 14 WHEREAS, studies show that DACA recipients have 15 made and continue to make significant, positive 16 contributions to their communities and economies by 17 increasing tax revenue for states and localities, 18 starting their own businesses, earning higher wages, 19 participating more fully in the workforce, and pursuing 20 educational opportunities that they previously could 21 not access; and 22 WHEREAS, on September 5, 2017, the current 23 presidential administration announced plans to phase 24 out DACA, but implementation was put on hold to allow 25 Congress time to pass the Development, Relief, and 26 Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act or some other 27 legislative protection, however, Congress failed to act 28 -1- LSB 2795HH (2) 88 mo/rn 1/ 4

H.R. 18 and the time extension expired on March 5, 2018; and 1 WHEREAS, several courts have blocked the plan to 2 phase out the DACA program and have ordered United 3 States Citizenship and Immigration Services to continue 4 accepting and processing renewal applications; and 5 WHEREAS, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a 6 temporary status granted by the government that allows 7 a person to live and work in the United States and is 8 given to eligible nationals of designated countries 9 afflicted by natural disasters, war, or other dangerous 10 conditions; and 11 WHEREAS, according to the Pew Research Center, TPS 12 currently protects approximately 320,000 people in the 13 United States from 10 countries who would otherwise be 14 deported to areas suffering from disease, violence, 15 starvation, the aftermath of natural disasters, and 16 other life-threatening conditions; and 17 WHEREAS, according to the Pew Research Center, the 18 largest group of TPS recipients is from El Salvador 19 (195,000 people), followed by Honduras (57,000 people) 20 and Haiti (50,000 people); and 21 WHEREAS, most TPS holders in Iowa are from El 22 Salvador and Honduras and they, and their families, 23 have been significant, contributing members of 24 their communities and local economies for nearly 20 25 years; and 26 WHEREAS, according to the Immigrant Legal Resource 27 Center, ending TPS will devastate the United States 28 economy as deporting TPS recipients from El Salvador, 29 Honduras, and Haiti would cost taxpayers over $3 30 -2- LSB 2795HH (2) 88 mo/rn 2/ 4

H.R. 18 billion. Over a decade, the inability of these 1 individuals to work would result in over $45 billion 2 in lost gross domestic product and $6.9 billion in 3 lost Social Security and Medicare contributions. 4 Moreover, employers would incur close to $1 billion in 5 turnover costs for the wholesale termination of TPS 6 recipients; and 7 WHEREAS, terminating TPS before countries are 8 sufficiently recovered will have a profoundly 9 destabilizing effect which will be felt in countries 10 in need, by their neighbors, and at the United States 11 borders, as more people flee their countries to save 12 their lives and the lives of their families; and 13 WHEREAS, the Department of Homeland Security has 14 already denied extension of TPS status to several 15 countries, which means that current recipients will 16 lose their ability to work legally in the United States 17 and will be at risk of being deported back to dangerous 18 conditions in their home countries; and 19 WHEREAS, TPS recipients have filed a class-action 20 lawsuit, which has blocked the termination for Sudan, 21 Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Haiti, but has left many 22 TPS recipients from other countries in a state of fear 23 and confusion; and, 24 WHEREAS, on March 12, 2019, Representative Lucille 25 Roybal-Allard introduced the American Dream and 26 Promise Act of 2019 in the United States House of 27 Representatives, which would provide DACA and TPS 28 recipients, along with other immigrants residing in the 29 United States, with protection from deportation and an 30 -3- LSB 2795HH (2) 88 mo/rn 3/ 4

H.R. 18 opportunity to obtain permanent legal status in the 1 United States if they meet certain requirements; and 2 WHEREAS, according to the National Immigration 3 Forum, the American Dream and Promise Act would allow 4 nearly 700,000 DACA recipients, as well as another 5 1.6 million eligible immigrants brought to America as 6 children, and over 300,000 TPS recipients, to stay in 7 the United States; NOW THEREFORE, 8 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That 9 the House of Representatives respectfully requests that 10 Iowa’s congressional delegation support and the United 11 States Congress pass the American Dream and Promise Act 12 of 2019; and 13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this 14 Resolution be transmitted to Majority Leader of the 15 United States Senate Mitchell McConnell, Jr., Speaker 16 of the United States House of Representatives Nancy 17 Pelosi, and to each member of Iowa’s congressional 18 delegation. 19 -4- LSB 2795HH (2) 88 mo/rn 4/ 4