[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 162 (Thursday, December 9, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8660-S8661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               DREAM ACT

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, 10 years ago, I received a telephone 
call in my Chicago office that I have recounted on this floor many 
times. But it started me on a journey that resulted in where we stand 
today on the passage of the DREAM Act. It was a phone call from a 
Korean-American mother with an amazing daughter who was a musical 
prodigy who had been accepted at the Juilliard School of music in the 
Acting President pro tempore's home State of New York.
  This excited young woman, in filling out the application, came to the 
question about her citizenship and nationality and turned to her mother 
and said: What do I put here? And her mother had to tell her the sad 
news that when that young girl was brought to America from Korea, at 
the age of 2, the mother did not file any papers and so that young girl 
was literally undocumented, literally illegal in the eyes of some.
  She asked us for help. What can we do to help in this situation? Here 
was a bright young woman, with a bright future, who had done everything 
right and excelled in so many ways. We contacted the Immigration 
Service and they said: It is too bad. Under American law, this young 
girl--who never consciously did anything wrong in her life--was a 
person without a country. Her only recourse at the age of 18 was to 
return to Korea--a country she had no knowledge of, could not speak the 
language, and had never visited anytime in her life.
  When I heard about that, I thought that was fundamentally unfair. 
This young woman did nothing wrong. The mother made the mistake. The 
mother did not file the papers. And now her life was in shambles, and 
uncertain because of it.
  So I put in a bill which basically said: If you are in that 
situation, where you were brought to America at a young age, and then 
proceed to do the right thing with your life--go to school, make 
certain you were a good member of your community--we will give you a 
chance when you have graduated from high school, a chance to prove 
yourself, that you were going to be a good citizen in America.
  You could prove it one of two ways. You could do a noble act for 
America, stand up and volunteer to serve in our Armed Forces, literally 
prepared to risk your life for this great Nation--and if you did that, 
then we would put you on the path to legalization--or if you didn't 
choose the military service, you could prove it by your educational 
achievement.

  Now, most of the people we are talking about are not Korean or Polish 
or Filipino. They are Hispanic, and the numbers tell us the odds are 
against the young people we are talking about. Half of them don't 
finish high school. Only 5 percent of these undocumented students end 
up going into a college of any kind. Think about those odds: 50-50 that 
you will finish high school and 1 out of 20 that you will even enter 
college.
  So we put up a high wall and said: You have to clear this wall to 
prove that you are not only a good person but that you desperately want 
to be part of America's future. That is the DREAM Act.
  In the process we said: We are going to ask you more questions than 
we ask of a Congressman or a Senator. We are going to ask questions 
about your background, your moral character, your knowledge of English. 
We are going to follow you closely and carefully, and if you stumble 
along the

[[Page S8661]]

way, we can't help you. It is a very strict standard we impose, but it 
is one that these young people are anxious to meet.
  These young people who will be affected by the DREAM Act are some of 
the most amazing, inspiring people I have ever met. From the Presiding 
Officer's home State of New York, as a young man, Cesar Vargas--I told 
his story on the Senate floor yesterday--came to America from Mexico at 
the age of 5. He went through school. Then, on 9/11, he was so angry 
about what happened in the Presiding Officer's city of New York, he 
went to the recruiter and said: I want to enlist in the military. I 
want to serve and defend this country against terrorism.
  They said: Mr. Vargas, you can't because you are undocumented. You 
can't join because, you see, our military has not waived the 
requirement of legal status for those who want to enlist. So he 
continued his education. He is now in his second or third year at the 
New York University Law School. I have met him. He is an extraordinary 
man. He speaks five languages. As the Presiding Officer knows, he could 
be a catch for a law firm--this young man, with all of these skills and 
all that drive. That is not his goal. He wants to be a part of our 
military still, to be a lawyer in the military today. That is his 
ambition.
  He is a DREAM Act young man. Why would we say no to him? Why would we 
turn our backs on him and say: We don't need you. We know better. The 
Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, has said: Yes, we need him and many 
more like him who can come into our military and make a better and 
stronger and more diverse military and build up a tradition of service 
in the military which will extend for generations forward. Secretary 
Gates knows the DREAM Act is in the best interests of the defense of 
America.
  Secretary Arne Duncan, our Education Secretary, appeared with me 
yesterday and said these young people who have overcome the odds and 
finished high school and want to go to college and be lawyers and 
engineers and doctors and teachers are the people who can build our 
base of success in the future. Why would we turn them away? At a time 
when we are debating about importing talent from other countries to 
meet our needs in America, why would we turn away the talent in 
America, those who are here today and only asking for a chance?
  Last night, in the House of Representatives, there was an amazing 
vote, an incredible vote, passing the DREAM Act. I believe it is the 
first time it has passed the House of Representatives. I want to credit 
my colleague and great friend, Congressman Luis Gutierrez, who worked 
night and day, and I also wish to thank the men and women of the House 
who showed the courage to vote for it. One of them called me late last 
night and was emotional about this decision, wondering if it would have 
a long-term impact on his political career. But that Congressperson had 
the courage to step up and do it.
  Now the question is, Will we have the courage to do the same? Our 
leader, Majority Leader Reid, has asked to vitiate the rollcall vote 
this morning, which is basically putting it aside, because he believes 
the bill is not a bill that is viable under the circumstances now that 
the House bill has passed. The minority leader, Senator McConnell, has 
come to the Senate floor repeatedly and said we should not be having 
these so-called symbolic votes, even on the DREAM Act. This morning, 
Senator Reid said: Let's take a symbolic vote off the calendar and wait 
until we receive the House message. There was an objection from the 
Republican side so, clearly, they are arguing it from both sides.
  Be that as it may, we owe it to the young men and women whose lives 
will be affected, we owe it to America who needs their service in the 
military and needs their skill in building our economy to honestly 
address this issue and ask Members of both sides to sit down, pause, 
and reflect as to whether we can afford to say to these talented young 
men and women: There is no place in America for you.
  There is a place. There is a place for them, as there was a place for 
my mother, who came to this country at the age of 2 as an immigrant, 
whose mother and father could barely speak the English language but who 
eventually gave birth to a son who stands here today as the Senator 
from the State of Illinois. My story is an American story, and the 
story of these DREAM Act students is an American story of fighting 
against the odds, of coming from other places, determined to be a part 
of this great Nation and making a contribution that makes a difference.
  I pray my colleagues will reflect on what happened last night--the 
historic vote of passing the DREAM Act--and that before this Congress 
packs up and leaves, we will address this issue and pass it too.
  I see the minority leader is on the floor.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.

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