House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi addressing DACA recipients in Los Angeles, Oct. 18, 2017. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

(CNSNews.com) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) put out a statement on Saturday celebrating the seventh anniversary of the Obama Administration’s policy of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals,” which allows certain individuals who came to the United States illegally to gain temporary work status.

“These hard-working men and women bring their talents, imagination and determination to our country in pursuit of the American Dream, and in the process make America more American,” Pelosi said.

The Department of Homeland Security explains DACA as follows: “On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal. They are also eligible for work authorization. Deferred action is a use of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action against an individual for a certain period of time. Deferred action does not provide lawful status.”

Two of the criteria the DHS says it uses to determine whether someone is eligible for DACA status are whether they “[w]ere under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012” and “[h]ad no lawful status on June 15, 2012.”

“Our Dreamers are American in every way but on paper,” Pelosi said.

“Our nation’s Dreamers are our teachers, students, medical professionals, first responders, entrepreneurs, and service members,” she said. “We owe it to them and to our future to honor our heritage as a nation of immigrants and embrace the diversity that strengthens our country.”

Here is the full text of Pelosi’s statement: