Ellen DeGeneres Offers Support to Dreamers

Ellen DeGeneres showed her support for Dreamers - young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as minors, who could be deported if Donald Trump carries through on a threat -- in a Thanksgiving week social media post.

DeGeneres appeared in a T-shirt bearing the words "We Are All Dreamers" in a photo she shared on Twitter and Instagram. The accompanying text was "You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one. #DreamAct."

"You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one" is a lyric from John Lennon's classic 1971 song "Imagine," and the Dream Act is a bill pending in Congress that would allow these immigrants, numbering roughly 800,000, to stay in the U.S. They have been able to remain here under President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which grants them work permits if they meet certain strict criteria. The permits last for two years and can be renewed.

Obama created DACA through executive action five years ago after Congress failed to pass an earlier version of the Dream Act - Dream originally being an acronym for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors. But Trump's attorney general, Jeff Sessions, announced in September that DACA would end in six months unless Congress passes the Dream Act or other legislation to save it. LGBT groups and other human rights groups quickly denounced the Trump administration's plan to end DACA.

DeGeneres and other celebrities, including Olivia Wilde and Cara Delevigne, added their voices in support of the Dream Act via social media for Thanksgiving. They want to see Congress pass "clean" Dream Act, but some Republicans want to add new immigration restrictions to the bill, according to the Washington Examiner. Wilde and Delevigne specifically called on Trump's daughter Ivanka to persuade her father to support the legislation.

You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one. #DreamAct

A post shared by Ellen (@theellenshow) on Nov 21, 2017 at 12:27pm PST