DACA recipients, activists continue to push Flake on 'clean' Dream Act

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Phoenix immigration activists on Sunday continued to press U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake for a "clean" Dream Act, flooding his office with calls to legalize the status of young immigrants known as "dreamers" without agreeing to a border wall.

The five-hour phone drive, held as part of Promise Arizona's "Souls to the Phones" campaign, aimed to make at least 1,000 calls to the Arizona Republican's office.

The effort was set to begin at noon, but the first volunteer showed up at 10 a.m., according to civic-engagement organizer Lupe Conchas.

“We’ve had a good 20 people come through and each one of those 20 people, their goal was to do 20 or more calls,” Conchas said about 4 p.m. Sunday.

The organization will host a similar effort Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at its headquarters, 701 S. First Street.

The Promise Arizona campaign is part of a larger push for Congress to adopt legislation that would create a pathway to citizenship for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. Flake is a leader of the bipartisan group urging a compromise to save the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, which Trump plans to end March 5. 

"We’re focusing on Sen. Flake because he has been one of the lead negotiators…and we want to be sure he’s hearing the voices of his entire constituency regarding what they want to see as part of a ‘clean Dream Act,” volunteer organizer Laura Perez said in a statement.

 

A spokesman for Flake did not immediately respond to an email from The Arizona Republic seeking comment. But the senator said Sunday on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos " that Democrats and Republicans were "trying to come forward with a compromise,"

Some Republicans say they will support the Dream Act if the legislation includes a provision to fund a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, while Democrats have argued for the exclusion of border-security measures.

"I think we have (found a compromise), and you’ll see that this week," Flake said.

The Dream Act debate has intensified since the Trump administration announced in September that it would phase out DACA, the Obama-era program that protected up to 800,000 young migrants from deportation.

A federal judge in California recently ordered immigration officials to accept DACA renewal applications until a lawsuit against the Trump administration is settled. The Department of Justice could appeal the judge's order, however.

More than 25,000 people in Arizona have received DACA status, which allows them to get a two-year work permit and a Social Security number. A delegation of Arizona dreamers is expected to travel to Washington, D.C., this week to lobby lawmakers.

Source: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2018/01/14/daca-recipients-activists-continue-push-flake-clean-dream-act/1032820001/