[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 103 (Friday, July 10, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H7998]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    DREAM ACT AND IMMIGRATION REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, last week, hundreds of thousands of people 
throughout the country, many of whom were in Colorado, picked up their 
phones and called Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to 
ask her to delay the deportation of a young man from Miami, Florida, 
Walter Lara.
  Let me tell you a little bit about Walter. Walter moved to the United 
States from Argentina when he was 3 years old, and he has never left. 
He has dedicated thousands of hours to serving his community, tutoring 
children in mathematics and computers. He stood out in high school as 
an honor student and graduated from Miami Dade Honors College in 2007. 
But instead of following his dream and pursuing a promising career in 
computer animation and Web design, Walter's graduation gift was an 
imminent deportation order.
  Walter was scheduled to be deported over the 4th of July weekend, but 
thanks to a week of intense activism by congressional leaders, the 
SEIU, bloggers, and thousands of grass-roots activists who made calls 
and sent letters on Walter Lara's behalf, the Department of Homeland 
Security moved to defer 23-year-old Lara's scheduled deportation back 
an entire year until July 3 of 2010.
  While I was thrilled to hear that Walter's deportation has been 
delayed and he would be able to stay in the United States, this action 
alone is far from enough. What will happen to Walter in 2010 if we 
don't pass comprehensive immigration reform? What does it mean for the 
hundreds of thousands of Walters throughout the country who came to the 
United States as children, excelled in school, played by the rules, 
only to face deportation?
  Despite meeting State residency requirements, immigrant students in 
most States are charged out-of-state or international tuition rates 
which effectively render college inaccessible. These kids, Mr. Speaker, 
are as American as anybody else, but for far too long they have had 
their dreams shattered by an education system that ignores their good 
grades and hard work.
  Educational opportunity is a right, and something that we are all 
taught that if you work hard in this country and you don't give up, you 
can achieve anything. But the doors to opportunity have been shut for 
thousands of hardworking students who have been raised and educated in 
our country.
  Even though Walter was able to stay, the U.S. Government deports 
thousands of students just like Walter and will continue to do so until 
we pass the DREAM Act as part of comprehensive immigration reform. The 
DREAM Act will ensure that children who have grown up in the United 
States and studied in American schools can remain here and work and pay 
taxes and live in our country.
  Under the American DREAM Act, qualified students would be eligible 
for temporary legal immigration status upon high school graduation that 
could lead to permanent legal residency if they attend college or serve 
in the military.
  Students like Walter are our greatest natural resource, and they 
should have access to higher education, the key to both individual 
success and our Nation's economic growth and prosperity.
  I recently had the opportunity to visit an immigrant detention 
facility in Aurora, Colorado. These are young people, people of all 
ages, who are picked up. They might have broken the speed limit, they 
might have a taillight out on their car, they might simply have been 
loitering, and now, with taxpayer money, we are putting them up at $120 
a day of our hard-earned money rather than them being out working and 
paying taxes to reduce our deficit.
  Mr. Speaker, in this era of budget deficit, putting Walter and people 
like him in a government hotel that taxpayers are paying for for $120 a 
day makes absolutely no sense when Walter would rather be out working 
and paying taxes to help reduce our deficit.
  To help the hundreds of thousands of Walters across the country, now 
is the time to pass comprehensive immigration reform, and I strongly 
urge my colleagues to support it.

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