Call Democratic leaders: No more delays or excuses. Protect Dreamers and save CHIP.

The next chance for Democrats to secure permanent protection for Dreamers and funding for children’s health care is just a few days away. Call today to make sure Democratic leaders stand up and fight. Click below for a sample script and the number to call:

Democratic leaders will not stand up for Dreamers or children unless we force them to act. In December, 31 Democrats helped Republicans fund the government for a few weeks without any protections for Dreamers and only temporary funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).1,2 That was not just a failure by each of those Democrats, but also a massive failure of leadership. Dreamers whose Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status is expiring right now and children who are already losing their health care cannot wait any longer for relief. Democrats have the power to force a vote on the DREAM Act and secure funding for CHIP as the budget fight comes to a head again on Jan. 19. Help flood the offices of Democratic leaders with calls to make clear that failing again to protect Dreamers and restore CHIP is not an option. Call Democratic leaders: Time to fight. Lead your caucus in blocking any spending package that does not include a clean DREAM Act and funding for CHIP. Click here to start your call. For each day that Congress waits to pass the DREAM Act and fully fund CHIP, more lives are ruined and families torn apart. DACA gave many people brought to the United States as children by their parents the ability to work and live in the country. Since Donald Trump ended the program, more than 15,000 Dreamers have lost their legal status. And 122 more a day become targets for deportation while Congress waits to pass the DREAM Act. Donald Trump recently made clear that any permanent legislative solution to protect Dreamers from deportation would come at the cost of greenlighting his border wall and punishing immigrant communities by shredding the fabric of the country’s immigration system with cuts to the diversity visa lottery and family-based immigration.3 We cannot allow Democrats to cave and accept any compromise bill that would protect Dreamers but waste billions of taxpayer dollars to help Trump fulfill his xenophobic campaign promises. CHIP gives more than 9 million low- and middle-income children access to lifesaving health care. Republicans allowed it to expire in September. Now, more than a dozen states are preparing to shut down their CHIP programs completely.4 Congress approved temporary funding for CHIP in December. We must keep pushing until it restores the program completely. To keep Dreamers safe and millions of children healthy, we need Democratic leaders to do their jobs, keep their commitments and use their leverage now. Can you help flood their offices with calls demanding that they hold the line on a clean DREAM Act and CHIP? Call Democratic leaders: Time to fight. Lead your caucus in blocking any spending package that does not include a clean DREAM Act and funding for CHIP. Click the link below to start your call. https://act.credoaction.com/call/dreamchip_demleaders/?t=7&akid=26866%2E3130208%2E40HnP - Nicole Regalado CREDO Action Click below for a sample script and the number to call: References: CREDO, "Democrats who voted to deport Dreamers graphic," posted Dec. 21, 2017. Tara Golshan, "The 2017 government shutdown fight, explained," Vox, Dec. 21, 2017. Andrea Germanos, "WH Regurgitates Anti-Immigrant Wish List as Trump Doubles Down on Making Dreamers Bargaining Chips," Common Dreams, Jan. 6, 2018. Phil Galewitz, "CHIP funding could run out as soon as this month in some states," CNN, Jan. 5, 2018.