Industry leaders unite: MCA joins the fight for legislation efforts on behalf of Dreamers

By Anna Lockhart.  

Groups from across the construction industry have joined together to fight for a good cause – providing permanent legal citizenship status for Dreamers in the United States.  

The Metal Construction Association (MCA) has added their signature to the list of construction industry leaders advocating for the development of legislation to protect the legal status of Dreamers, who make up a key population who could potentially help bridge the labor shortage in the U.S. construction industry.  

As a part of the Roofing Industry Executive Coalition, MCA and other members came together to sign a letter addressed to the nation’s congressional leaders, urging them to consider creating legislation that will protect Dreamers by providing them with permanent legal status. Dreamers, once protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), are individuals who were born in foreign nations but were brought to the United States before the age of 16 and have resided in the United States since June 2007. DACA was ruled unlawful by federal courts. 

While the Dream Act offers a solution and pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, the act has not been passed by Congress. Legislation like the Dream Act can make a huge impact on those who qualify as Dreamers, as well as their families, and it is of utmost importance for groups like MCA and the Roofing Industry Executive Coalition that such laws pass. By providing this group with legal citizenship, it will also provide employers with stability in their workforce and peace of mind with the varied labor laws in the many states regarding employment of undocumented migrants.   

For those interested in helping this cause, the MCA encourages the community to raise their own voices by writing to their own representatives and senators. By encouraging their support on bipartisan legal actions for this cause, Dreamers may have the opportunity to make a future in the U.S. and in the American workforce.