Thousands of Deferred Ideas

Our dream at Clause Out is to open up and speed up policymaking.

Thousands of policy ideas are dying on the vine. Just like a raisin in the sun (to quote the poet Langston Hughes).

Let’s change that by driving awareness and action on long-neglected policies!

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HEREBY HIGHLIGHTED

The DREAM Act of 2025

What’s debated in Congress might not dominate the news cycle or even make it into the headlines.


A recent example is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Last week, a bipartisan group of 200 House members introduced a new version of this policy.

The odd thing is that it doesn’t seem to have been published on Congress.gov almost a full week later. It came to our attention by scraping our way through The Congressional Record and noticing this speech. Then, we hunted around and found the full proposal on one of the sponsor’s websites.

But first, what is DACA?

Passed in 2012, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) protects certain individuals who were brought to the U.S. as children without legal authorization. They’re known as Dreamers.


Overall, DACA provides:

  • Protection from deportation
  • Work authorization
  • A pathway to citizenship


But here’s the catch: DACA is not a law. It was created by executive action, and its legality has been challenged in court for years.

What's the New Policy About?

It specifies a path to citizenship for Dreamers who meet education, military, or work requirements.


It would put in place legal protections that can’t be overturned by executive orders, meaning Dreamers wouldn’t be in limbo every election cycle.

The Trump Factor

While the president has called for tighter border security, he has expressed support for DACA, saying in December that Dreamers “deserve to stay” under the right conditions.


This policy proposal includes stronger border security measures to achieve bipartisan support.

ZINGER

The First Frontier

It’s International Women’s Day this week, which reminded us of Turner's Thesis: the idea that the American frontier shaped democracy, self-reliance, and innovation. Not to mention progressive lawmaking.


Wyoming granted women the right to vote 30 years before the 19th Amendment did this nationwide. That’s why it’s nicknamed "The Equality State".

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We Want To Hear From You

At Clause Out, we believe in accountability. That’s why we’re inviting you to hold us to our mission. What policies aren’t getting enough attention? Immigration? Student debt? Tech regulation?

Reply to this email and we can break them down in a future issue.

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