The bipartisan immigration bill, the America’s CHILDREN Act, seeks to protect more than 250,000 Dreamers from deportation by offering a pathway to citizenship for children of visa-holding foreign nationals. Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., who previously co-authored the original DREAM Act with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, announced the legislation alongside Senators Alex Padilla and Rand Paul, signaling broad support across the political spectrum. The bill addresses longstanding issues with green card backlogs and aging-out provisions, which have left many young adults at risk of losing their legal status.
Durbin highlighted the economic and patriotic contributions of Dreamers, stating, ‘Their patriotism and dedication to our country inspires me, fuels our economy, and makes our nation stronger.’ The Illinois Democrat criticized the Trump administration’s deportation policies as making legal immigration ‘all but impossible,’ while emphasizing the bipartisan nature of the bill as a reflection of public demand for solutions.
Democrats like Rep. Deborah Ross of North Carolina described the challenges posed by the Child Status Protection Act, which has created decades-long delays in green card approvals. She noted that many Dreamers reach the age of 21 before visa numbers become available, leaving them without legal protections. Republicans, including Rand Paul and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, also endorsed the bill, arguing that Dreamers are essential contributors to their communities and the U.S. economy, and that the legislation targets relief for those affected by government failures in addressing immigration backlogs.
Other Republican co-sponsors include Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a frequent Trump critic, along with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and John Rutherford, and Sens. John Curtis of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine. The bill reflects a growing bipartisan effort to reform an immigration system that has long struggled to accommodate the needs of long-term residents who arrived as children of foreign nationals.