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Letter: Support the DREAM Act and thereby support all families in America

Ingrid Vaca, left, of Falls Church, Va., who has two children who are DACA recipients, and Nena Ovieda, of Gaithersburg, Md., attend a rally in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation, near the Capitol in Washington. "It breaks my heart to hear the stories of the Dreamers," says Ovieda, "and for the politicians to call them lazy when they are such hard workers. These could be my kids." (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

I believe our communities, our state and our nation are strong when our families are strong. One way that Congress can protect families is to pass the DREAM Act. Dreamers were brought to the United States as children; many of them know no other home. They have grown up here, they have made our communities stronger, and they have created loving families here.

I have been appalled by the stories of deportation of mothers and fathers; hard-working, law-abiding people whose families are now living in single-parent situations. The trauma this is causing to their children is heartbreaking. Last summer I participated in a rally in support of one mother who had been taken by ICE agents from her family in a store parking lot. At the end of the rally, her son offered some women and me some water. He was undergoing a tragedy, yet he was concerned for our comfort. I want thoughtful and caring families like this to be stable and protected as my family is protected.

It is time for Congress to act. I urge my members of Congress to support the DREAM Act and thereby support the families of Utah and the United States.

Suzanne Johnson, Kaysville

By Suzanne Johnson | The Public Forum