Britney Spears shared an important message about the Dream Act on Instagram
As immigration groups continue to urge Congress to pass the Dream Act, celebrities are joining the fight. Among them is Britney Spears, who showed her support for the Dreamers with a photo on social media. In the pic, she’s wearing a shirt that reads “We Are All Dreamers” along with the caption “Tell Congress to pass the #DreamAct.”
Britney Spears’s pic comes after the recent news that Congress won’t review a DACA replacement until 2018. The policy — which stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act — protects immigrants who came to the United States as children. But it’s not enough for Congress to say that they will eventually pass immigration legislation. Without DACA, Dreamers are losing their status and being deported every day. Essentially, the Dream Act would act as a modified replacement for DACA, preventing immigrants from deportation and granting residency. But the longer that the Dream Act is delayed, the more people will be affected.
Spears’s message is resonating with her fans. On Instagram, her photo received nearly 600,000 likes in 18 hours. Plus, almost 9,000 retweets on Twitter. We applaud her for raising awareness and creating a sense of urgency around the delayed decision.
We are all Dreamers Tell Congress to pass the #DreamAct
A post shared by Britney Spears (@britneyspears) on Dec 22, 2017 at 7:37pm PST
Spears isn’t the only celebrity speaking out about the Dream Act.
On Thanksgiving, celebs used Instagram to send Ivanka Trump a message about the Dream Act. And on Wednesday, December 20th, figures like America Ferrera, Jennifer Lawrence, and Mark Ruffalo wrote an open letter urging Congress to make the decision before the holidays to prevent further delays, The Huffington Post reported.
At the same time, protesters have taken to the streets or staged demonstrations to get the attention of politicians.
On Friday, December 15th, seven Dreamers were arrested during a sit-in at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office. Some of those jailed Dreamers are participating in a hunger strike for a “clean” Dream Act.
The Dream Act is part of a federal budget plan which Congress must agree upon in order for the law to move forward. (As part of the Trump Administration’s plan as it stands, however, it includes increased funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the governmental agency that handles deportation.)
Props to Spears and her peers for speaking out for what they believe in.