New Poll Shows Majority of Voters Support the Dream Act, Want Citizenship Legislation Included in Recovery Package

NEW YORK – A new poll commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union shows strong majorities of registered voters support a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who were brought to the country as children, and want Congress to pass citizenship legislation as part of a national recovery package — including protections for Temporary Protected Status holders and immigrants who are essential workers.

The poll was released on the ninth anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which currently provides temporary protection to approximately 700,000 people who were brought to the U.S. as children.

“These numbers confirm that a strong majority of Americans believe Dreamers deserve a pathway to citizenship and support Congress delivering it through a national recovery package, which could be passed through the budget reconciliation process,” said Naureen Shah, senior advocacy and policy counsel for the ACLU. “Nine years since DACA created a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of Americans-in-waiting, Dreamers continue to live in fear of being torn away from their families and the country they call home. Citizenship legislation is essential to the well-being of our communities and the strength of our economy — and the American people agree. With clear public support, Congress has a mandate to overcome its dysfunction and finally pass citizenship legislation that has been decades in the making.”

The poll, conducted by YouGov, found that:

• Seventy-two percent of voters support the Dream Act, which would provide a pathway to citizenship and protection from deportation for Dreamers, or undocumented people who came to the country as children and have grown up in the U.S.
• Sixty-three percent of voters support including a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, immigrants who work in essential industries, and Temporary Protected Status holders who face violence or natural disasters in their home countries, as part of a national recovery package.

The poll results are online at: https://www.aclu.org/fact-sheet/aclu-poll-path-citizenship-dreamers-and-tps-holders