Democrats Reintroduce the Dream Act

This article has been update to include a reply from Senator Cortez Masto’s spokesperson.

“This is about the Dreamers and their families,” Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto remarked during a press conference to reintroduce the bipartisan Dream Act that would grant a pathway to citizenship to DACA recipients, and those with Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforcement Departure.

The bill provides these individuals (and presumably their families) with conditional permanent residence for up to ten years, protecting them from deportation and allowing them to work legally. To qualify, they must meet certain requirements, such as having continuous residency since 2021, a high school diploma or equivalent, and passing a background check.

In 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was created through an executive order in June 2012 under former President Barack Obama. It provided temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to certain illegal aliens who were brought to the U.S. as children, and has since faced a series of legal challenges.

Democratic Senators Dick Durbin (IL), Alex Padilla (CA), Catherine Cortez-Masto (NV) attended today’s event organized in collaboration with the Home Is Here coalition, including FWD.us, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), United We Dream, and “partner organizations” (see below) that includes the National Education Association and Make the Road (NV and NY).

Make the Road Nevada is listed on the website of democratic socialist U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as an “endorsed organization.”

FWD.us was launched in 2013 with help from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan through a $100 million grant in 2021.

United We Dream (UWD) has called for the United States to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

According to Influence Watch, “UWD has criticized President Joe Biden’s 2022 budget proposal for not doing enough to dramatically defund immigration enforcement efforts led by ICE and CBP.”

UWD Executive director Greisa Martinez Rosas, who led and closed Thursday’s event, has claimed that “the police and the deportation force of ICE and CBP were born of white supremacy and anti-Blackness.”

“The Dream is still alive,” said Padilla for the “more than two million Dreamers living in the United States.”

To note, when President Obama enacted DACA through executive order, there were reportedly 800,000 Dreamers living in the U.S.

You can watch the event on the following link:

I just reintroduced the Dream Act.

Dreamers are American in every way except their immigration status.

It’s long past time to change that. https://t.co/BlFgkm5lds

— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) December 4, 2025

The Globe has reached out to Senator Cortez-Masto’s office for comment on UWD’s calls to abolish federal immigration enforcement and Rosas’ related comments. We will update the article with their response when and if received.

Update 2:53 PM:

“Senator Cortez Masto has never and will never support abolishing ICE or CBP. She has a strong track record of working to support law enforcement, keep our border secure, and treat immigrants, including DACA recipients, with dignity.” – Lauren Wodarski, Spokesperson for Senator Cortez Masto.