Post Independent: Editorial: The smart, American thing to do: Protect Dreamers

First, we offer thanks and praise to Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet, Colorado’s U.S. senators, for signing on as co-sponsors of the latest version of the Dream Act.

The bill, backed by four Republican and six Democratic senators, would establish permanent residency and a path to U.S. citizenship for many people brought into the country illegally before they were 18 who have not committed crimes.

We applaud Republican Gardner and Democrat Bennet for working together, particularly on this issue. Most Colorado leaders understand that a hardline immigration policy — the deport-them-all stance of candidate Donald Trump and many of his supporters — would damage our state and the nation in myriad ways.

The Dream Act, first introduced in Congress in 2001 and an administrative version of which was rescinded by Trump last week, is simply the right thing to do in terms of economic, social and humanitarian policy.

And it is smart.

A Canadian senator, Ratna Omidvar, has urged her country to take in 30,000 Dreamers if Congress fails to act before President Trump’s six-month deadline to pass a law protecting Dreamers.

Read the full story from the Post Independent: “Editorial: The smart, American thing to do: Protect Dreamers”