HARTFORD -- On Monday, Senator Richard Blumenthal joined with local leaders, community members and Dreamers at the Legislative Office Building to discuss DACA legislation.
March 5 was originally supposed to be the deadline for legislative action on DACA, after President Trump ended the program in September, but gave Congress a six-month window to take legislative action. Court orders are currently in place to ensure renewal of current applications, but Sen. Blumenthal calls the orders an insecure and temporary solution.
Camila Bartolletto, a DACA recipient from Danbury, spoke about the need to have legislation in place. Bartolletto came to Danbury from Brazil as a child.
"DACA gave me the opportunity to work, to get a job, to have a license," said Bartolletto. "But, more than that, it gave me hope for the future."
"I am determined to seek still a compromise that will give them permanent status and path to citizenship in this country," said Sen. Blumenthal.
Michael Hernandez, an undocumented resident from Stamford now on the path to citizenship, is calling on Connecticut lawmakers to support legislation currently in committee that would offer financial aid to undocumented Connecticut students.
"You can go to your parents and ask, what's my social security number?" said Hernandez. "And you're able to access these things, but when you're an undocumented student, that's a very, very strong conversation to have with your parents."
March 23 is the next date to watch, because it is the next government funding deadline. Some lawmakers may try to use that deadline to pass legislation relating to DACA.