On Tuesday, the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a controversial immigration bill known as the American Dream and Promise Act offering a path to permanent citizenship for two million Haitian and Liberian immigrants and DREAMers. HR6 passed on the House floor with a 237 to 187 vote. Every Democrat, along with seven Republican congressmen, voted to pass the measure.

The bill would give citizenship to millions of undocumented immigrants who arrived to the United States as children. It was also guard DACA recipients from deportation.

“This bill is unjust and unfair to the millions of immigrants who come here legally,” sophomore Claire Akard said. “Their granted asylum here is up and they knew this day was coming. We are a nation of laws [and] we must follow them.”

As the bill left the House with chants like “USA, USA, USA” and “yes we can,” the Act faces an uphill climb in the U.S. Senate, where the Republicans hold a eight seat majority. If the Act does manage to slip through the Senate, there is no doubt President Donald Trump will veto. If he does, the Senate won’t have enough votes to override. In fact, the White House has already issued a veto threat.

“If President Trump vetoes it then he does not represent all Americans. They have been living in the country for so many years, it’d be cruel to send them back to a undeveloped country where nothing remains,” sophomore Adianna Lockwood-Shabat.

While the bill faces a challenge in the Senate and the White House, possibly even the courts, the passage of this initiative in the House sends a clear message to Republicans and Americans as whole that the Democrats are taking charge on the legislative level regardless of the fact they hold half of the power in the bicameral Congress.

Click here to read the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019