Heinrich, O’Rourke Bicameral Legislation Would Safeguard DREAMer Data

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) are leading efforts in the House and Senate to safeguard the private information—such as addresses and telephone numbers—of the young immigrants known as DREAMers to ensure that they are not targeted for deportation. 

“Nearly a million DREAMers across the country have come out of the shadows because of the promise that DACA represented, including more than 7,000 from New Mexico. These are some of our brightest students and veterans who came forward based on the promise that our government would not deport them and provided personal information about themselves and their families. However, DREAMers across the country now face a harsh uncertainty about their future and are worried that the information they shared will be used against them. To do this would be an extraordinary and unprecedented breach of trust by our government,” said Heinrich. “That is why I introduced the Protect DREAMer Confidentiality Act to safeguard DREAMers’ private information—such as addresses and telephone numbers. We must protect the personal information DACA applicants entrusted with the government and ensure that they are not unfairly targeted by President Trump for deportation.” 

“DREAMers provided their personal information in exchange for protected status. No matter what one may think about the DACA program, it is wrong to use this information against DREAMers and Congress needs to prevent that from happening,” said O’Rourke.   

Heinrich and O’Rourke introduced bicameral legislation to protect the confidentiality of information submitted in requests for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) from disclosure to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection for any purpose other than implementing the DACA Program, unless there are national security concerns or other limited exception. 

A copy of the Protect DREAMer Confidentiality Act of 2017 introduced by Heinrich and cosponsored by U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) is available here. 

A copy of the Protect DREAMer Confidentiality Act of 2017 introduced by O'Rourke and U.S. Representative Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) is available here.