Thread by @olivermerino4

🧵On Dream and Promise Act:

This week HR6 was reintroduced in the House. If passed, the bill would provide a pathway to citizenship for DACA, TPS, and DED holders.

BUT the legislation also includes harsh "criminal bars" that would exclude many.

The bill continues the framework of criminalization by using peoples juvenile record against them. This is the same bill of 2019. 

Here's an article from the Marshall Project:

themarshallproject.org/2019/06/17/the…

From the article: "No law has ever before required immigration officials to also weigh immigrants’ juvenile records when they apply for asylum, visas or any other form of permanent residency status."

At the time, juvenile justice groups and immigrant rights groups spoke out against these criminalization measures.

Here is the letter they sent to Congress:

hrw.org/news/2019/05/2…

"Rather than pitting kids against one another and promoting a narrative of the “good immigrant” versus the “bad immigrant,” Congress should be focused on ensuring all immigrant youth who have only known the U.S. as home no longer have to live in fear of an uncertain future."

The bill also targets youth with alleged "gang affiliation."

This of course is up to the discretion of the police and ICE. Some police departments even use gang databases where about 80% of people in the list are Black and brown folks.

This year, before the re-introduction of HR6, 280 organizations signed a letter urging Congress to eliminate these criminal bars. 

Here is a copy of that letter:

americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/amend…

The demand was to get Congress to eliminate "the additional criminal bars to status will ensure that otherwise eligible people will not suffer unjust double punishment and will also ensure a faster and fairer implementation process."

Despite efforts, Democrats introduced the bill with the same "criminal bars", no changes. Same criminalization.

As HR6 moves in Congress, we must NOT look over these harmful "criminal bars" and the exclusions in the bill - and remember why relying on the racist criminal legal system is unacceptable.

Over the years, I've seen too many people deported, incarcerated, or lose their status because they were targeted by police or because of contact with the criminal legal system.

As someone who might benefit from HR6 (but also has a criminal record), I understand the want to finally pass a bill in Congress. But we must demand more, especially in this moment.

BOTH parties are trying to further criminalize our community.

I think of what I heard recently from an organizer:

"Our demands shouldn't be what is politically possible but what our communities deserve."

And we ALL deserve safety without criminalization.