Congress isn't helping DREAMers, but states, colleges and businesses can. Here's how. America doesn't have to fiddle while Congress dithers over DACA. States, colleges and businesses can take steps to help DREAMers realize their dreams.

Gaby Pacheco | Opinion contributor

After nearly a year of chaos, Congress has failed to move past its dysfunction and provide a way for DREAMers to legalize their status permanently. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and the future of DREAMers remains tied up in courts in what seems like an endless legal ping-pong game. This tenuous fate underscores why all of us should strengthen our commitment to help these young people give back to the country they call home.

While we continue to call on Congress to resolve DREAMers’ uncertainty, federal policymakers are not the only ones who can step up. State lawmakers, employers, and institutions of higher education each can help fill the void of federal inaction by exploring new ways to help DREAMers solidify their, and our country’s, future.

Here are several actions that state elected officials, college leaders, and business owners can take to step up for DREAMers.

Local leaders can stand up for DREAMers

State lawmakers seeking to fill the vacuum should look at states like New Jersey, which recently made it easier for DREAMers to pursue higher education by removing related financial obstacles. DREAMers are ineligible for federal aid and loans and also are barred from additional state financial aid in 42 states and in-state tuition rates in 30 states.

States can also help DREAMers by addressing a host of policies, from driver’s licenses to licensing requirements for certain professions, that make a daily difference in DREAMers’ lives. Such state leadership can move us closer to the vision that all young people, regardless of where they were born, should have the opportunity to fulfill their potential, gain an education, and fully participate in their country.

Colleges and higher education leaders have been among the most consistent champions of DREAMers, delivering heartfelt testimonials about how these students enrich their campuses and calling on Congress to deliver a solution. Now, higher ed institutions can help by opening the doors to graduate and professional school more widely to account for DREAMers’ unique circumstances.

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For many DREAMer graduates, their exceptional undergraduate performance would qualify them for graduate school, and many of their chosen professional paths will require advanced degrees. However, without access to federal aid and loans, paying for graduate programs will be next to impossible. More institutions of higher ed should follow the lead of institutions like Chicago Loyola Stritch School of Medicine, Claremont Graduate University and CUNY Graduate Universities.

Businesses and employers can also take actions in support of DREAMers, including exploring opportunities to sponsor their "DACAmented" employees for programs like H1-B visas; setting up a fund to help young people get started as independent contractors and business owners; and, of course, leveraging their networks to advocate for DACA to elected officials, Chambers of Commerce, and fellow business owners.

Highly motivated but facing uncertainty

As the nation’s largest college access and success program for undocumented immigrant youth, we at TheDream.US have a first-hand view of the accomplishments, potential, and incredible drive of DREAMers across America. Last spring, 211 of our Scholars graduated with diplomas in hand, dreams intact, and having compiled a stellar record of scholastic achievement, campus and community contributions.

Our graduating Scholars are part of a larger wave of highly motivated DREAMers who have earned their undergraduate degrees but are facing barriers to using them to pursue their careers. It’s a cruel irony that, as they’ve been walking across graduation stages in ever greater numbers, DREAMers’ futures are uncertain due to the announced end of the DACA program and failure of Congress to deliver a permanent legislative solution. DACA gave these young people not only deportation protections and work authorization, but the security and confidence to plan their lives.

Thousands of DREAMers across America have put their caps and gowns away and are ready to put their degrees and talents to use. And we have a workforce that needs an infusion of talent and vitality, especially as the baby boomer generation retires. DREAMers have committed themselves to their communities and to give back to the country they call home. It’s time we returned the favor, recognizing that what is good for these young people remains good for America.

Gaby Pacheco, a DREAMer with legal permanent residency, is the Director of Advocacy, Development and Communications for TheDream.US. Follow her on Twitter: @GabyPacheco1