Senator Charles Grassley (R) says he supports the Dreamers, immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children who are protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, as a Texas federal judge recently ordered the U.S. government to close the program to new applicants.

U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen required the Biden administration to stop approving new applications for DACA, stating that the Obama administration did not have the legal authority to grant deportation relief and work permits to DACA recipients. Grassley tells KCII that he proposed legislation to provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers in 2018, but it failed to gain the needed majority in a floor vote, “And if there’s anybody listening who thinks because they entered the country illegally they ought to be deported, I would reason this way. I would agree that their parents violated the law by bringing them here, but I don’t think the kids can be held responsible for that.”

The Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force, which includes retired and active police chiefs across Iowa, has urged Congress to protect Dreamers from any negative impacts from the federal court ruling, stating that they are important members of the country that are here by no fault of their own. They added that with businesses everywhere struggling to find employees, meaningful immigration policies would benefit the nation’s economy.