Aliento Statement on Senator Gallego’s Immigration Plan
Aliento applauds Senator Ruben Gallego’s leadership for including a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and long-term immigrant residents in this immigration framework. For nearly 40 years, Congress has failed to deliver meaningful reform. Senator Gallego’s plan reflects a long-overdue commitment to solutions rooted in lived experience and Arizona’s realities.
In Arizona alone, more than 20,000 DACA recipients contribute meaningfully to our economy and communities. Nationally, DACA recipients and their households pay $6.6 billion in federal taxes and $4.9 billion in state and local taxes each year. In our state, Dreamers are educators, engineers, healthcare workers, and small business owners—many raising U.S.-citizen children and generating millions in tax revenue.
But legal uncertainty persists. Due to court rulings, no new DACA applications are currently being accepted.:
44,000 Dreamers in Arizona are technically eligible but were unable to apply due to the fact that the program was frozen.
59,000 Dreamers in Arizona, 15,000 ineligible for the DACA program due to the program’s 2007 cutoff date.
Only 760 current DACA recipients in the state are between the ages of 17–20, reflecting a steep drop-off and a whole generation of Dreamers left behind.
Senator Gallego’s plan responds to this problem by proposing:
A pathway to citizenship for undocumented Dreamers and long-term residents;
Protections for documented Dreamers at risk of aging out due to visa backlogs;
Legal status for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens and green card holders.
And solutions to our workforce shortage problems that immigrants can fill.
These are not just policy proposals—they’re investments in our shared future. We urge Congress to move beyond gridlock and deliver permanent protections and practical policies. It’s time to bring Dreamers out of the shadows and fully recognize them as the Americans they are!
