The popular fundraising platform GoFundMe has partnered with a bipartisan organization to help Dreamers pay the $495 fee for their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal application.
On Thursday, FWD.us, a bipartisan group focused on promoting policies to keep the United States competitive in a global economy — starting with “commonsense immigration reform and criminal justice reform,” according to a press release — announced it had joined forces with GoFundMe to help Dreamers pay the application fee.
After passing a background check, about 800,000 young people have received renewable two-year permits to live, work, study and support their families in the United States. These applications must be renewed every couple years to retain protections against deportation.
“Immigrants are the lifeblood of this country,” said GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon. “We draw strength from past generations who arrived on our shores in search of a better life, and we grow stronger with the contributions of the next generation of immigrants. Dreamers, who were brought here by their parents as children, are in search of that same American dream. We’re proud to stand up for Dreamers all across this country, and I encourage everyone to take action and support for the talented young people who call this country home.”
FWD.us President Todd Schulte echoed this message, adding that Dreamers are Americans in every way except on paper.
“We are very proud of this new partnership with GoFundMe and we thank them for their ardent support in order to provide additional support to Dreamers during such a critical time,” Schulte said. “Given the uncertainty in the courts, we strongly encourage all Dreamers who are eligible to renew their DACA to contact a lawyer and pursue a renewal immediately — and to use tools like the GoFundMe DACA Hub to assist them in raising necessary funds.”
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