[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 168 (Friday, December 17, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10493-S10504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
The DREAM Act
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, tomorrow, we are going to have two
important votes. I would go so far as to say they are historic. In the
history of the United States of America, I do not know how many people
have lived in this great Nation. Today there are more than 300 million.
But if you added up all of those who lived in this great Nation since
we became a nation, the number would probably be in the billions. In
that period of time, only 2,000 men and women have had the honor of
being U.S. Senators. It is a humbling statistic, for you, for me, for
all of us, to think that we join with so few of our own fellow citizens
who have this great opportunity and responsibility.
In the desk drawers around the Senate are the names of the Senators
who have served. Some of them are amazing: Daniel Webster, John
Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Mike Mansfield--the list goes on.
But there are also many names that have faded into obscurity. You pull
open the desk drawer and say: I do not recognize that name. I wonder
who that was? One of two thousand I am going to presume served their
State and Nation well but left no indelible mark on history. They did
their job. That says something for each and every one of them who
served here.
But precious few of those 2,000 had a moment in history to do
something historic. When we look back in the course of our history,
there were opportunities to vote on whether to go to war, to vote on a
constitutional amendment, to approve a Supreme Court Justice. All of
these things rank in the highest order of the business of the Senate.
But I would say at that top level is the opportunity to vote to
extend civil rights and human rights in our Nation, the opportunity to
vote for justice. Those are the stories that are told and retold.
The civil rights battles of the 1960s that you and I can vaguely
remember from our youth; the giants of the Senate who, when it looked
hopeless on the issue of civil rights, found a way. I worked for a man
named Paul Douglas who was an extraordinary man and dedicated his life
to civil rights. It turned out that his stalwart support made a
difference. But what made the real difference was the other Senator
from Illinois, Everett McKinley Dirksen, a conservative Republican, who
decided he was finally going to pitch in and help to pass civil rights
legislation. He is remembered for that. He once said something which
may be politically incorrect now. But describing his transition on the
issue of civil rights, he said: There is nothing more pregnant than an
idea whose time has come.
In his mind, the idea of civil rights had come. When we look back at
the Senate of those days and the votes that were cast, for many of the
Senators casting those votes, they were painful, difficult votes. The
idea of integrating America beyond the Armed Forces, beyond schools,
into every aspect of our life was controversial in many parts of our
Nation.
It was controversial in the Land of Lincoln, my Home State of
Illinois. But the Congressmen and Senators of that day mustered the
courage to do it, and they are remembered for that courage. Some of
them are exalted for that courage because they did it in the face of
opposition, vocal opposition to what they were about. We will have an
opportunity tomorrow to vote on what looks like two pedestrian
procedural motions, but they are much more. One of them is to eliminate
a discriminatory policy in our Armed Services known as don't ask, don't
tell. It will be a chance for Members of the Senate to go on record
about whether they believe we should move beyond the practices of the
past; whether they believe we should acknowledge that people of
different sexual orientation can play a valuable role in protecting
America. It is a historic vote. I am glad we are going to have it.
Before that vote is another. It is called the DREAM Act. This is a
piece of legislation which I have been working on for 10 years.
Whenever I am discouraged about how long it has taken, I think of how
long these other battles have taken; how many decades it took to bring
us to the civil rights vote; how long it took for women to get a right
to vote in America; how long it took for the disabled to finally be
recognized in America, thanks to the amazing bipartisan leadership of
Bob Dole and Tom Harkin in the Senate.
Whenever I feel discouraged that I have been at this for 10 years and
still do not have it, I think of those battles, and say to myself:
Durbin, as a student of history, even an amateur student of history, be
patient because some of these things take a long time, but they are
worth the effort and worth the wait.
The good news is that the House of Representatives did something
historic last week. They passed the DREAM Act. I cannot thank Speaker
Nancy Pelosi, majority leader Steny Hoyer, Howard Berman, Chairman of
the Foreign Relations Committee, and my colleague, Luis Gutierrez of
Chicago, enough. What an extraordinary job they did in passing that
legislation. It was not easy. The President of the United States,
Barrack Obama, who had cosponsored the DREAM Act as a Senator, was on
the phone asking Democrats and Republicans to join in this effort to
move toward justice.
They passed it by a vote of 216 to 198. It was bipartisan
legislation, and it would give a select group of immigrant students who
grew up in this country the chance to become legal. I will tell you it
would not be easy if this becomes law for them to make that journey
from where they are today to legal status.
But last week, the Senate decided that we would accept this challenge
as well. After the House passed this bill, our majority leader, Harry
Reid, who has been just an amazing ally and friend in this effort, came
to the floor and said: We were pursuing another version of this bill to
make the point of our commitment to it, but we are pulling that version
from the calendar. We are going to vote on the bill that passed the
House of Representatives. This will not be a symbolic debate. This
debate is for real. If we can pass the bill passed by the House of
Representatives, we can send it to the President and make it the law of
the land. It will be a real act, not a symbolic, political act.
I thank my colleague for saying that and doing that. The DREAM Act
has enjoyed bipartisan and majority support in the Senate virtually
every time it has been called. The last time the Senate considered the
DREAM Act, it received 52 votes, including 12 Republican votes.
When Republicans last controlled the Senate, the DREAM Act was
reported by the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 16 to 3. This has been
a strong, bipartisan issue. If some of the Republicans are willing to
join us in the Senate, as eight Republicans did in the House, we can
make the DREAM Act the law of the land.
This is simply a matter of justice. Let me tell you the story behind
the DREAM Act. I have said it before, but I think it is an indication
of why it is worth it to pick up the phone and call your Senator or
your Congressman, or to send that e-mail or letter, or to perhaps draw
them to the side at a public event and tell them your story or your
concern.
The story of the DREAM Act goes back more than 10 years ago, when a
woman, a Korean woman in Chicago, called our office. She was a single
mom with three kids. She ran a dry cleaning establishment. She had just
an amazing young daughter. Her daughter was an accomplished concert
pianist at the age of 18. Her daughter had been accepted at the
Julliard School of Music in New York. Her mom was beaming with pride as
her daughter started to fill out the application form.
At a point where it said: Nationality or citizenship, the daughter
turned to the mom and said: What should I put here?
Her mom said: I do not know. You see, we brought you to the United
States when you were 2 years old and we never filed any papers for you.
So I do not know what to put there.
The girl said: What are we going to do?
The mom said: We are going to call Durbin.
They called my office. And one of my staffers responded and looked
into the law. The law was clear. This 18-year-old girl who had lived in
the United
[[Page S10497]]
States for 16 years, under the law of the United States, was not a
citizen and had no legal status in this country whatsoever, and the law
said she had to go back to Korea, a place she could never remember,
with a language she could barely speak, to live her life.
I thought that was fundamentally unjust. If you want to penalize the
mother failing to file papers, that is one thing. But to penalize a
girl, who at the age of 2, had no voice in this decision for the rest
of her life strikes me as unfair and unjust. So I wrote up the DREAM
Act. I went to the Senate Judiciary Committee and found an ally in
Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah.
In fact, it was interesting--I am sure the Presiding Officer will
appreciate this--we had a little tussle about who was going to put
their name first on this. The first version was Hatch-Durbin. That was
OK. I was not as interested in having my name first as getting this
passed.
Well, over the years, there have been versions of this bill that have
been introduced and considered over the last 10 years. But, sadly, it
has not been enacted into law.
The DREAM Act is the right thing to do. It will make America a
stronger country. It would strengthen our national security by saying
to thousands of young people like that young Korean girl, thousands of
highly qualified young people, that they can have a chance to enlist in
our Armed Forces and work their way to legal status.
The Defense Department Strategic Plan says the Dream Act would help
``shape and maintain a mission-ready All-Volunteer Force.''
That is why the DREAM Act has the support of national security
leaders such as Defense Secretary Robert Gates and GEN Colin Powell.
Here is what Secretary Gates says:
There is a rich precedent supporting the service of
noncitizens in the U.S. military. The DREAM Act represents an
opportunity to expand this pool to the advantage of military
recruiting and readiness.
The DREAM Act also would stimulate our economy. It gives these
talented young immigrants the chance to become tomorrow's engineers and
doctors and lawyers and teachers and entrepreneurs.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said: Make no mistake.
Engaging these young people and challenging them to serve in the
military or to finish at least 2 years of college is going to make them
productive citizens and add to the bounty of the United States as they
take on big jobs and earn their paychecks and build their homes and
families. They concluded the DREAM Act would produce $2.2 billion in
net revenues over 10 years.
A recent UCLA study found the DREAM Act students would contribute
between $1.4 and $3.6 trillion to the U.S. economy during their working
lives. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a person I admire from New York City.
He supports the DREAM Act. He stated succinctly:
These are just the kind of immigrants we need to help solve
our problems. Some of them will go on to create new small
businesses and hire people. It is senseless for us to chase
out the home-grown talent that has the potential to
contribute so significantly to our country.
Senator Sessions of Alabama has left the floor. He did not speak this
evening on the DREAM Act, but he has been to the floor many times. He
opposes it. Jeff Sessions and I are friends. We are on the Judiciary
Committee. We do agree from time to time, and we have had some pretty
important legislation cosponsored by the two of us.
On this issue we disagree. I have carefully followed his complaints
or items that he has brought up on the floor that he thinks are weak in
this bill. Last week he said on the floor that the DREAM Act is ``a
nearly unrestricted amnesty, a guaranteed path to citizenship.''
I appreciate Senator Sessions's passion. He has been a strong
opponent of the DREAM Act since it was first introduced. With all due
respect, that is not what the bill says. Only a select group of
students would be able to earn legal status under this legislation.
In fact, according to a recent study by the nonpartisan Migration
Policy Institute, only 38 percent of those who were potentially
eligible for the DREAM Act would ultimately become legal.
Think about this. About 40 to 50 percent of Hispanic students today
drop out of high school.
Fewer than 5 percent of undocumented students go on to college. You
can't make it under the DREAM Act unless you graduate from high school,
so already about 50 percent of those who are Hispanic are unlikely to
qualify. Then only 1 out of 20 enroll in college. And that number may
increase. But look at the number it starts with, a small fraction of
the Hispanic population. So to argue this is going to introduce
opportunities for millions of others doesn't work with the numbers.
The DREAM Act would initially give qualified students a chance to
earn what we call conditional nonimmigrant status, not legal permanent
residence or citizenship. They can only qualify for conditional
immigrant status if they prove in a court of law by a preponderance of
the evidence the following: They came to the United States under the
age of 15; they are under the age of 30 on the date the bill is signed
into law; they have lived in the United States continuously for at
least 5 years before the bill becomes law; they have good moral
character as determined by the Department of Homeland Security since
the date they first came to the United States; they graduated from high
school or obtained a GED; and they have registered for selective
service.
So the day the DREAM Act is signed into law, to be eligible you must
have been in the United States for 5 years. Assume for a moment the
President would sign it in a week--not likely, but possible, an answer
to my prayers, but possible. That would mean that anyone who came to
the United States after 2005 would be ineligible for the DREAM Act. So
it is a select group.
Then we say to that select group, you have to meet the following
requirements: You have to apply within 1 year of when the bill becomes
law or when they obtain a high school degree or GED; they have to pay a
$525 fee; they must submit biometrics information, undergo security and
law enforcement background checks and medical examinations. These are
all requirements to even be eligible for DREAM Act status.
They would be specifically excluded from becoming a conditional
nonimmigrant under this bill if: They have a criminal background; they
present a national security or terrorist threat; they have ever
committed a felony or more than two misdemeanors; they are likely to
become a public charge; they have engaged in voter fraud or unlawful
voting; they have committed marriage fraud; abused a student visa; or
pose a public health risk.
That long list of things I read is an obstacle course which many of
these young people will never be able to clear. But we set it up this
way intentionally.
During the course of preparing for this, one Senator received a
notice that said that the DREAM Act allows the Secretary of Homeland
Security to waive all grounds of inadmissibility for illegal aliens
including criminals, terrorists, and certain gang members. We had my
staff call the Senator's office who put this out and ask: Where did you
get that? That is not what it says. They couldn't point to any source.
We then called the Department of Homeland Security and said: All
right, give us an answer. Under the DREAM Act, could you waive all
these things, would terrorists and criminals have a right? Of course
not. The Department of Homeland Security came back and said: No, that
isn't what the law says at all.
So we are battling not only passing a bill but a lot of
misinformation. That is troublesome.
It is interesting, when I call my Senate colleagues, even those who
are nominally against the bill, it is interesting how many of them say
the following to me: Man, Durbin, why are you doing this to us? I am
rolling around in my bed at night wide awake worrying about this vote
and thinking about it all the time. I was walking over to the Capitol
and a couple of these young kids came up to see me. I talked to them.
They were very impressive.
I say to these young people, who would be eligible under the DREAM
Act or hope they would be: You are the very best messengers for what we
are trying to do. When people meet you and know who you are and what
your
[[Page S10498]]
dreams are, it is hard to believe that you are a threat to the United
States. You look like the hope of the United States and what you could
bring to us.
Let me tell you the stories of a few of them. These stories tell you
why I feel so strongly, as Senator Menendez does, about this issue and
why this bill is so important.
Meet Gaby Pacheco. Gaby was brought to the United States from Ecuador
at the age of 7 so she certainly had little or no voice in her parents'
decision to come here. Here she is pictured in her junior ROTC class
which I think is the next chart, her drill team class. She is in the
back row on the far right. She was the highest ranking junior ROTC
student in her high school in Miami and she received the highest score
in the military aptitude test. The Air Force tried to recruit her, but
she was unable to enlist because she has no legal status in the United
States. Let me tell you what she has done since she couldn't enlist in
the Air Force. She has earned two associate degrees in education and is
currently working on her BA in special education. She has served as the
president of her student government and president of Florida's Junior
Community College Student Government Association. Her dream in life is
to teach autistic children.
Do we need more teachers of autistic children in America? We
certainly do. But she can't do that because she is undocumented.
Gaby was one of four students who walked all the way from Miami, FL
to Washington, DC, 1500 miles. This wasn't a little day hike. They came
here because they believe in the DREAM Act, and they wanted to let the
people in Washington know how much they believed in it. Along the way
these four students were joined by hundreds of supporters who came out
of villages and towns and walked with them for miles to show their
solidarity in this effort.
Meet Benita Veliz. Benita was brought to the United States by her
parents in 1993 at the age of 8. She graduated as valedictorian of her
high school class at the age of 16. She received a full scholarship to
St. Mary's University in Texas. She graduated from the honors program
with a double major in biology and sociology. She wrote her honors
thesis about the DREAM Act. Benita sent me a letter recently, and I
want to read what she said:
I can't wait to be able to give back to the community that
has given me so much. I was recently asked to sing the
national anthem for both the United States and Mexico at
Cinco de Mayo community assembly. Without missing a beat, I
quickly belted out the Star Spangled Banner. I then realized
that I had no idea how to sing the Mexican national anthem. I
am American. My dream is American. It is time to make our
dreams a reality. It is time to pass the DREAM Act.
Benita, how can we say no?
Now meet this young man. His name is Minchul Suk. He was brought to
the United States from South Korea by his parents in 1991 when he was 9
years old. He graduated from high school with a 4.2 GPA. He graduated
from UCLA with a degree in microbiology, immunology, and molecular
genetics. With support from the Korean-American community, he was able
to graduate from dental school. He has passed the national boards and
licensing exam to become a dentist, but he can't obtain a license
because he is not legal. Despite coming here at the age of 9, he is not
legal.
He sent me a letter recently. Here is what he wrote:
After spending the majority of my life here, with all my
friends and family here, I could not simply pack my things
and go to a country I barely remember. I am willing to accept
whatever punishment is deemed fitting for that crime; let me
just stay and pay for it. . . . I am begging for a chance to
prove to everyone that I am not a waste of a human being,
that I am not a criminal set on leeching off taxpayers'
money. Please give me the chance to serve my community as a
dentist.
In Rock Island, IL, my wonderful home State, we have a great clinic
for poor people. I went and visited a couple months ago. I said: What
do you need? They said: We need a dentist. These poor people don't have
a dentist. Do we need dentists in America? You bet we do. We need
Minchul Suk. To think when you think he says: ``I am willing to accept
whatever punishment is deemed fitting for [my] crime.'' What was his
crime? Being brought to the United States at the age of 9? Graduating
from UCLA with a degree in microbiology, immunology, and molecular
genetics? Taking the boards when he knew he couldn't become a dentist?
Is that a crime? I don't think so. Most Americans wouldn't see it that
way.
This is Mayra Garcia. This wonderful young woman was brought to the
United States at the age of 2. She is 18 now. She is president of the
Cottonwood Youth Advisory Commission in her hometown of Cottonwood, AR.
She is a member of the National Honor Society, and she graduated from
high school last spring with a 3.98 GPA. I am sure the Presiding
Officer had a better GPA, but I didn't. Mayra just started her freshman
year at a prestigious university in California.
In an essay about the DREAM Act, she wrote:
From the time I was capable of understanding its
significance, my dream was to be the first college graduate
in my immediate and extended family. . . . College means more
to me than just a four-year degree. It means the breaking of
a family cycle. It means progression and fulfillment of an
obligation.
Here is what she told me about growing up in the United States:
According to my mom, I cried every day in preschool because
of the language barrier. By kindergarten, though, I was
fluent in English. . . . English became my way of
understanding the world and myself.
Mayra Garcia, like all DREAM Act students, grew up in America.
America is her home. English is her language. She dreams in English
about a future in this country that she won't have without the DREAM
Act.
I want you to meet Eric Balderas. Eric's mom brought him to the
United States from Mexico when he was 4 years old. He was valedictorian
and student council president at his high school in San Antonio, TX.
Eric just began his sophomore year at Harvard University. I met this
young man. He came to my office. He is majoring in molecular and
cellular biology. He wants to become a cancer researcher. He couldn't
do it without the DREAM Act. Do we need more cancer researchers in
America? You bet we do. Is there a family in America that hasn't been
touched by cancer? We want his talent. We need his talent. Why would we
send him away? That is what the DREAM Act is all about.
Here is another great story. These are all good, but they keep
getting better. This is Cesar Vargas. This young man is amazing. He was
brought to the United States by his parents when he was 5 years old.
When he was in college, Cesar tried to enlist in the military after 9/
11. He went into the recruiter angry that people were attacking the
United States and said: Sign me up. I want to go in the Marines. They
said: What is your status?
Well, I am undocumented, but I have been here since I was a little
kid, and I am willing to leave college to join the Marine Corps.
They turned him away. Today he is a student at the City University of
New York School of Law where he has a 3.8 GPA. He founded the
Prosecutor Law Students Association at his school and did an internship
with the Brooklyn District Attorney's office. He is fluent in Spanish,
Italian, French, and English, and he is close to mastering Cantonese
and Russian. He is a talented man. He has received lucrative offers to
go to work for corporate law firms outside the United States where his
citizenship status will not be an issue. But his dream is to stay in
the United States and still enlist in the military as a member of the
Judge Advocate General's Corps. Without the DREAM Act, Cesar has no
chance to live his dream of enlisting in the United States military
serving our Nation.
This is David Cho. David's parents brought him to the United States
from South Korea 10 years ago, when he was 9. Since then, David has
been a model American. He had a 3.9 GPA in high school and is now a
senior at UCLA where he is majoring in international finance. As you
can see, he is the leader of the UCLA marching band. You might see him
on television at half time. David wants to serve in the Air Force. If
the DREAM Act doesn't pass, he will not get that chance.
Here is another great story: Oscar Vazquez. Oscar was brought to
Phoenix, AR by his parents when he was a child. He spent his high
school years in junior ROTC and dreamed of enlisting in the military.
Here he is in his uniform. But at the end of his junior year,
[[Page S10499]]
a recruiting officer told Oscar that he was ineligible for military
service because he was undocumented. He entered a robot competition
sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Oscar
and three other DREAM Act students worked for months at a storage room
in their high school to try to win this contest. They were competing
against students from MIT and other top universities. Oscar's team took
first place. Here is Oscar today.
Last year he graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in
mechanical engineering.
Oscar was one of only three ASU students who were honored during
President Obama's commencement address.
Do we need a mechanical engineer who won a national robot competition
to be part of the future of America? You bet we do. Oscar needs his
chance.
The last person I will refer to here is Tam Tran. As shown in this
picture, this is a lovely young woman, but a sad story. Tam was born in
Germany and was brought to the United States by her parents when she
was only 6 years old. Her parents are refugees who fled Vietnam as boat
people at the end of the Vietnam war. They moved to Germany, and then
they came to the United States to join relatives.
An immigration court ruled that Tam and her family could not be
deported to Vietnam because they would be persecuted by the Communist
government. And the German Government refused to accept them.
Tam literally had no place to go, no country. So she grew up here.
She graduated with honors from UCLA, with a degree in American
literature and culture. She was studying for a Ph.D. in American
civilization at Brown University when earlier this year she was
tragically killed in an automobile accident.
Three years ago, Tam was one of the first Dreamers to speak out and
testify before the House Judiciary Committee. This is what she said:
I was born in Germany, my parents are Vietnamese, but I
have been American raised and educated for the past 18 years.
. . .Without the DREAM Act, I have no prospect of overcoming
my state of immigration limbo; I'll forever be a perpetual
foreigner in a country where I've always considered myself an
American.
In 2007, the last time the Senate voted on the DREAM Act, Tam was
sitting right up there in that gallery. That day, the DREAM Act
received 52 votes, a majority of the Senate. But under our rules, you
need 60.
After the vote, I met with her and other students. Tears were in her
eyes because her chances just basically had not been fulfilled. She was
hopeful. She talked about the need to pass the DREAM Act so she would
have a chance to contribute more fully to this country, the home she
loved so much.
She will not be here for the vote tomorrow because we lost her in
that car accident. But I remember her, and I remember others who are
here tonight who understand the importance of this bill. It is not just
another exercise in the Senate of legislative authority. It really is
an opportunity to give young people like those I have just introduced
to you a chance.
Mr. President, it is going to be hard tomorrow. I have been on the
phone. I cannot tell you how many of my colleagues have said: I know it
is the right thing to do, but it is so hard politically. We know we are
going to be accused of supporting amnesty. We know our opponents will
use it against us.
I understand that. I have not always taken a courageous path in my
own votes, so I am not going to hold myself out as any paragon of
Senate virtue. But I just ask each and every one of my Senate
colleagues to think about this for a moment. How many chances will you
get in your public life to do something like this--to right a wrong, to
address an injustice, to give people a chance to be part of this great
Nation?
I am a lucky person. My mom was an immigrant to this country. She was
brought over here when she was 2 years old. In her time, she might have
been a DREAM Act student. She got to be a citizen of the United States.
She was naturalized at the age of 23, after she was married and had two
kids.
Before she died, I asked her once if I could see her naturalization
certificate. She went in the other room, and a minute later came out
with it in a big, brown envelope. I pulled it out, and there was a
picture of my mom 60 years before. A little piece of paper fluttered to
the floor. I picked it up and said: What's this, mom? She said: Look at
it. It was a receipt that said: $2.50. She said: That is the receipt
for my filing fee that I had to file to become a citizen. And I
thought, if the government ever came and challenged me, I would have
proof that I paid my filing fee. That was my mom. That immigrant woman
came to this country and made a life and made a family and brought a
son to the Senate.
These stories are the same. The opportunities are there with these
young lives to make this a better nation. The opportunity is there if
Members of the Senate can summon the courage tomorrow to vote for the
DREAM Act and to make these dreams come true.
I would like at this point to yield to my colleague and friend,
Senator Bob Menendez.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey is recognized.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, first of all, I want to send a heartfelt
thanks to the distinguished Senator from Illinois, who has been
spending nearly a decade trying to make the dreams of tens of thousands
of students a reality. This is really an American dream. This is
American as anything else. If there is a person who has fought
incredibly hard to make that dream a reality, it is Dick Durbin. So I
am thrilled that before I came to the Senate, while I was arguing for
this very same passage in the House of Representatives, there was a
Dick Durbin here in the U.S. Senate raising the voice of all of those
who have no voice, trying to call upon the conscience of the Senate to
do what is morally right--morally right.
So I salute him, regardless of the vote tomorrow. I hope it is a
measure that passes and makes a dream a reality, but he really deserves
an enormous amount of credit.
Mr. President, I rise in what will probably be the last opportunity
before the vote tomorrow--I do not know who is watching. I do not know
how many of our colleagues are tuned in. I hope they are. I am not even
speaking to a broader audience. In my mind, this is about 100 Members
of the U.S. Senate who have an opportunity to cast a vote that
ultimately can transform the lives of tens of thousands of young people
who call America their home.
For years, as young people--so many of them who Senator Durbin showed
pictures of; and those are only a fraction of the stories we could
tell--they have stood in classrooms in America and pledged allegiance
to the flag of the United States proudly. The only national anthem they
know is the ``Star-Spangled Banner,'' which they sing proudly. The only
way of life they have known is an American way of life. They have
understood what the rules are, and they have lived by those rules in an
exemplary fashion. I would be proud to call any one of those young
people my son or daughter.
This is an opportunity for the Senate to do what is right with the
vote that takes place tomorrow. The House of Representatives has done
what is right. It has passed this legislation. It is time for us to do
the same. The time has really come to harness and develop the talent
that all of these young people have to offer our country. And they
possess some enormous skills and intellect.
We have seen it. It is intellect that could be put for America, at a
time in which we are more globally challenged than ever before, where
the boundaries of mankind have largely been erased in the pursuit of
human capital for the delivery of a service or the production of a
product. We are globally challenged, so we need to be at the apex of
the curve of intellect--the most highly educated generation of
Americans the Nation has ever known.
These young people--valedictorians, salutatorians, engineers,
scientists, doctors--all have the opportunity to help America achieve
even greater greatness. That is what their dream is all about. That is
what an American dream is all about.
The time has come to allow thousands of young men and women, who
often are kept from enrolling in colleges, even though they are
accepted--this is not about giving anyone anything they cannot achieve.
They have to, obviously, on their own merit, be able to gain acceptance
to a college or university or on their own merit and
[[Page S10500]]
desire be able to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States.
That passion is there. The first soldier of an American uniform to
die in the war in Iraq was LCpl Jose Gutierrez, a Guatemalan who, at
the time of his death, wearing the uniform of the United States, was
not even a U.S. citizen at the time. He was a permanent resident. He
was willing to serve his country and die for it.
It is an opportunity for these young people, who, in many ways, have
lived in the darkness, and, who, through no choice of their own--if we
said these young people came to this country of their own volition, of
their own choice, of their own determination, maybe--maybe--we might
look at it differently. They were brought here by parents at ages in
which they had no knowledge and no choice of what their path would be.
They were brought here by parents fleeing dictatorships, fleeing
oppression, sometimes fleeing dire economic circumstances. But, above
all, they made no choice in that. They did not know they were violating
any rules, regulations, or laws. They came because their parents
brought them.
How many times have I heard in this Chamber that the wrong of a
parent should not be subscribed to a child? Yet that is what all those
who oppose the DREAM Act are saying: The child must pay for the choices
their parents made. Is that an American value? I think not. I think
not.
We have an opportunity to have them make full contributions to the
American economy through their ingenuity, through their skills, through
their hard work. That is what the DREAM Act has always been about.
I will tell you one story of many that are here. It is of a young
man, 20-year-old Piash Ahamed, who, as a child, emigrated with his
family from Bangladesh to New Jersey.
After his parents lost their bid for asylum, through no fault of his
own, he became an undocumented immigrant. He has been lobbying for
passage of the DREAM Act ever since. He said to me:
New Jersey--
And this is so true. It is beyond New Jersey. It is all of these
students--
New Jersey has already invested so much money in me, and
other undocumented students that are living here, when we
went to elementary, middle school and public high school. . .
. It doesn't really make any sense for them not to give us an
opportunity to finish and actually pay back to America and
contribute more through our talent, through our taxes,
through so many different ways.
The Dream Act is for people such as Piash Ahamed. It is about helping
him and creating the best educated American workforce possible--
creating future doctors, future teachers, future businesspeople, future
nurses, investors, and entrepreneurs. They are an economic resource we
cannot afford to waste.
I bristle when I listen to some of my colleagues who have come to the
floor and, right away, whenever we are talking about anything that
relates to immigration, slap the name ``amnesty'' on it, and it becomes
something that cannot be touched.
It is not amnesty. Amnesty is when you do something wrong and you get
something for nothing. These young people are not going to get
something for nothing. They are going to have to serve the Nation. They
are going to have to serve the Nation through their intellect, their
ingenuity, their ability to produce for America or they are going to
serve the Nation in the Armed Forces of the United States, willing to
risk their lives--their lives--like LCpl Gutierrez did in Iraq, when he
lost his life for the country they call home, for the country they
believe in.
They are going to have to qualify. They are going to have to pay
tuition. They are going to have to pay taxes. They are going to have to
pay fees. As a matter of fact, I am sure the distinguished Senator from
Illinois knows that the House version we are voting on is ultimately
saying: You have to pay a fee.
As a matter of fact, not only is it not a cost to the government, it
is a surplus to the government, according to the Congressional Budget
Office. It is going to produce revenue, already, just by the mere act
of giving them the possibility of realizing their dream. In essence,
they are going to have to pay for their dream. But they are willing to
do that, and it is going to create a revenue stream for the Nation.
That is not amnesty. It is not amnesty to wear the uniform of the
United States, risk your life. It is not amnesty to give your
intellect. And even then, there are those who say: Well, you are going
to give them a pathway. Well, that pathway has been elongated. It is
incredibly long.
I know some of my colleagues like to come here and say, well, you are
going to permit something that they call chain migration. I used this
during the last time we had immigration debates. Chain migration. You
know when you want to dehumanize something, you don't talk about
people. You don't talk about children. You create a sense of something
that people can say: Oh, it is chain migration. We don't feel too
compassionate about this if we can make it into a dehumanized sense
because if this person gets status, then they will be able to claim
their relative, and that relative will be able to claim their relative,
and so there is this sphere.
These students are not going to be able to do that, certainly not
under the bill we are considering a vote for tomorrow. So there is none
of that. Let's dispel that too.
At the end of the day, the DREAM Act is a true test of what America
is all about: an opportunity to earn your way toward status, to move
from being undocumented through no fault of your own to have a
temporary status that I think will last a decade before you can do
anything else. You have to have a lot of proof of your mettle during
that period of time; that you are worthy of becoming a permanent
resident of the United States--after a decade. You have to be of good
moral character. You have to go and prove yourself even more by
successfully attending college or completing honorable military
service, even in order to appease those who have raised every bar so
this would not be considered--calling the legislation amnesty, which it
is not because amnesty is something for nothing.
I have said before, there are even further restrictions that have
lowered the age cap as to who can qualify. It keeps intact the ban on
instate tuition. I don't like that. I think if you can ultimately be
accepted to a college or university and you are living in that State--
but all right, for those who said that was a problem, well, now there
is a ban on instate tuition. You are going to have to pay out-of-State
tuition. It prohibits these students from obtaining Pell or other
Federal grants and creates a conditional nonimmigrant status that
doesn't grant legal permanent residency for at least a decade.
At the end of the day, the DREAM Act is an ultimate test of American
values as a nation of immigrants. I often think about people who serve
in this Chamber. The only people who can actually make a claim of being
not the descendant of immigrants are Native Americans. After that,
everybody at some point in their history was an immigrant.
There has been expansive support for the DREAM Act, and it has been
bipartisan support. Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff of the United States, former Secretary of State, he supports
the DREAM Act.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is the Defense Secretary now in
this administration, but a Republican held over by President Obama and
asked to serve because of his great leadership, he has recommended in
the 2010 and 2012 strategy plan for the Defense Department's Office of
the Under Secretary for Defense and Personnel Readiness to help the
military shape and maintain a mission-ready, All-Volunteer Force, he
wants to see the DREAM Act passed.
David Chu, the Under Secretary of Personnel and Readiness at the
Department of Defense during the Bush administration said:
Many of these young people who may wish to join the
military have the attributes needed--education, aptitude,
fitness, moral qualifications. In fact, many are fluent in
both English and their native languages.
We have seen the challenges that we have globally from far off
countries where our enemies are not simply armies of a country but of
individuals. The languages that could be brought to bear to help us in
our national security and in our defense intelligence, in our abilities
to understand those entities, all from an American perspective, though,
all of these students have that opportunity to do that for America.
[[Page S10501]]
Moreover, university presidents, respected education associations,
leading Fortune 500 businesses such as Microsoft support this
legislation and have called upon the Senate to pass the DREAM Act. In
fact, in my home State of New Jersey, the presidents of 11 of New
Jersey's community colleges, in consultation with their board of
trustees, sent a letter to the New Jersey Congressional Delegation
saying help pass the DREAM Act. The letter was signed by the presidents
of community colleges in Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Essex,
Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Passaic, Sussex, and Union Counties.
One of the vice chairmen of the board of trustees at one of the
community colleges said in an article:
Although the DREAM Act is Federal legislation, many of us
felt it was important the State's community colleges take a
stand as the system is often the first stop for many of these
students whose ineligibility for State or Federal aid limits
their higher education choices. Our role is to educate our
students. Our role is not to engage in overall immigration
policy.
They want to see the DREAM Act become a reality.
I received a letter from Rutgers University's president, a State
university, Richard McCormick. He said:
Young people who have grown up in New Jersey, earned good
grades in our high schools, and taken an active part in civic
life; however, because of their undocumented status, cannot
take the next steps towards a rewarding future.
It is a future that would help my State and, as those stories
represented, help States across the country.
In fact, to my Republican colleagues, I would remind them that former
Arkansas Governor and Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee explained
the economic sense of allowing undocumented children to earn their
citizenship. He said:
When a kid comes to this country and he's 4 years old and
he had no choice in it----
His parent made that choice----
he still, because he is in this State, it is the State's
responsibility--in fact, it is the State's legal mandate--to
make sure that child is in school. So let's say that child
goes to school. He is in school from kindergarten through the
12th grade. He graduates as valedictorian because he is a
smart kid. He works his rear end off and he becomes the
valedictorian of the school. The question is: Is he better
off going to college and becoming a neurosurgeon or a banker
or whatever he might become, and become a taxpayer, and in
the process having to apply for and achieve citizenship, or
should we have him pick tomatoes? I think it is better if he
goes to college and becomes a citizen.
That is Mike Huckabee.
So I will say this to my friends and many of my colleagues. Not every
State is like New Jersey where we have a rich history of immigrant
populations that have contributed enormously. Some of the people we
have serving our country today came from those backgrounds. As a matter
of fact, some of them, their lineage comes through people who came into
this country undocumented. Yet they have risen to prominence and helped
contribute to America. Some of them are some of our outstanding
military leaders.
So this is not about amnesty. You have to earn it. This is not about
chain migration. You would not be able to claim anyone at all. In my
mind, this is all about family values. I hear a lot about that on the
Senate floor. This is about an opportunity to take these children who
are part of the American family and give them their opportunity to help
America succeed.
We wouldn't be in this challenge we are in if our Republican
colleagues weren't insisting on a supermajority via the filibuster.
There are enough votes in the Senate. A majority of the Senate is
willing to vote to make this dream come true. But since our Republican
colleagues have used the rules of the Senate to require not a simple
majority of 51 of 100 Senators but to require a supermajority of 60, we
are in this predicament; otherwise, this bill would pass tomorrow, be
sent to the President, and I know the President would sign it, and the
dreams and the aspirations, but most importantly the intellect, the
service to country, the service to the Armed Forces would begin to
become a reality, all to the Nation's benefit.
So we are here in this set of circumstances because our Republican
colleagues have insisted on a supermajority instead of a simple
majority that would clearly pass.
Now, for some who don't have immigrant communities such as Illinois
or New Jersey, maybe their populous doesn't quite understand the value.
Maybe they don't have an understanding of the great vitality and the
heartfelt sense of these young people being as American as anyone else.
I understand that. We come here by virtue of being elected from a
State, and we certainly advocate for the interests of our States. But
we are collectively called upon to serve the interests of the Nation.
This is an opportunity to serve the interests of the Nation.
The final point I will make is, those are all policy arguments. I
hope there will be some profiles in courage tomorrow, individuals who
may see this as a political risk. Every vote can be ultimately
determined as a political risk. As a matter of fact, for those who
believe this is a political risk and voted for the Defense
authorization bill to move forward, the majority leader made it very
clear when we had that vote in which nearly every Democrat of the
Senate voted in favor, he made it very clear there were going to be two
amendments that were going to be offered in that bill: don't ask, don't
tell and the DREAM Act.
So the 30-second commercial is there already. It is there. Anyone who
thinks that somehow voting against the DREAM Act tomorrow is going to
save them from that 30-second commercial, they are wrong. It is there.
I have to be honest with my colleagues.
As the only Hispanic in the Senate at this point--although this is
not uniquely a Hispanic issue. As we can see, these children come from
all over the world. The young man I mentioned from New Jersey is from
Bangladesh. But the Hispanic community is looking at this vote--40
million. They are the ones who are already U.S. citizens. You may say:
Well, what do they care? They understand what this vote is all about.
It is not just about these children, which should be enough. They
understand this vote is about them, how they are viewed in this
country, how they are perceived in this country, whether everything
they have done--you know, I bristled when I listened--which is why I
wrote my book, ``Growing American Roots,'' because I was tired of
seeing all these pundits on the shows who suddenly think that all
Hispanics just came here yesterday. We all just crossed the border in
an undocumented fashion, and we are all takers instead of givers to the
society.
Well, the oldest city in America, St. Augustine, FL, was founded by a
person named Pedro Menendez. I am looking at a title search to see if I
have any relationship for property in St. Augustine, FL. But it is the
oldest city in America, Pedro Menendez, the Governor of Louisiana
before Louisiana was a State, who led an all-Mexican division to help
stop the British advance on George Washington during the Revolutionary
War.
Admiral David Farragut, if you come with me to Farragut Square, I
think most Americans wouldn't know that Farragut Square is actually
named after ADM David Farragut, a Spaniard who, during the
Revolutionary War, led the naval forces on behalf of the Union and
coined the famous American phrase: ``Damn the torpedoes, full speed
ahead,'' a Spaniard.
The wall of the Vietnam Memorial is loaded with names of Hispanics
who gave their lives for this country.
The first soldier to fall in Iraq was LCpl Jose Gutierrez, a
Guatemalan who wasn't even a U.S. citizen. The all-Puerto Rican
division during the Korean War was one of the most highly decorated in
the history of the United States.
You can't find a Major League baseball team without a good part of
its roster being Latino. You can't turn on the TV without watching Eva
Longoria in ``Desperate Housewives.''
You can't go to the movies and not see someone such as Jennifer Lopez
in one of its leading roles. You can't turn on music--and the list goes
on and on.
This community understands what this vote is all about. I don't know
how any party can aspire to be the majority party with the largest
minority in the country growing exponentially, as we will see by the
next census, and continuously take votes and cast aspersions upon a
community and think that it can achieve political success.
This DREAM Act is about as much motherhood and apple pie as you can
[[Page S10502]]
get in the immigration debate. It is about children who didn't have a
choice but have made the most of the life they were presented. They
have done incredible things in the country they call home--the one they
sing the ``Star Spangled Banner'' about, pledge allegiance to, and the
one they are giving it all to.
So this community is going to be watching tomorrow's vote. I
certainly hope that when they watch that vote, they are going to see
one of the finest moments of the Senate doing what is right--not just
by these children but doing what is right by this country--fulfilling
our creed. That is what tomorrow's vote is all about. That is what I
hope each and every Senator will think about as they cast it. That is
the opportunity we have.
This is not just about the dreams of these young people. This is
about the dreams that have gone from generation to generation and have
made America the greatest experiment and enterprise in the world. That
is what tomorrow's vote is all about, Mr. President. I hope we will
cast a vote that will make that dream come true.
With that, I yield the floor.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I thank my colleague and friend, Senator
Menendez, for that great speech. I know it was heartfelt. I thank him
for waiting late this evening to come and those who have joined us
because they understand that though the hour is late, our time is short
before we cast this historic vote.
As I mentioned earlier, as I called my colleagues today, some of whom
are on the fence, not sure, they said: I toss and turn thinking about
this. I hope they toss and turn all night tonight and wake up tomorrow
with a smile and determination on their face to do something right for
America, to make sure they will have a good night's sleep Saturday
night because they have been able to fulfill the dreams of so many
young people who are counting on them tomorrow to rise above their
political fears and to really join ranks with so many in this Chamber
who, through its history, have shown uncommon political courage in
moving this Nation forward in the name of freedom and justice.
Mr. MENENDEZ. If my colleague will yield, I am sure the distinguished
Senator from Illinois knows from his long political history that when
you toss and turn, you know what is right. You don't toss and turn if
you have a commitment and conviction of the choice you are going to
make. You toss and turn when you know what the right choice is, but for
other reasons you may not be willing to make that choice.
Mr. DURBIN. I think the Senator is correct.
Mr. President, I don't know what the most effective way is in
Washington to lobby a bill, but I will tell you that there are no more
effective spokesmen and spokeswomen for the DREAM Act than the young
men and women who have been walking the Halls of the Senate over the
last several weeks, months, and years. They wear caps and gowns, as if
they are headed for a graduation, which is what they want to do. They
have made the case in a way that I could not on the floor of the Senate
because of their determination and the dignity they have brought to us.
Stick with us, I say to each one of them. Don't give up. Tomorrow, we
are going to try our very best to rally the votes we need because our
cause is right and our time is now.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Senate will soon vote on whether we
should debate the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors
Act, or the DREAM Act. I have been a cosponsor of this important
legislation since it was first introduced in the Senate in 2001, and I
commend Senator Durbin and Senator Lugar for their hard work in
advancing the DREAM Act this year. At the very least, we should have a
debate about this important legislation.
Enacting the DREAM Act will serve important priorities for our
country and for our military. Under current law, when undocumented
students graduate from high school, they typically have no opportunity
to gain lawful immigration status, a circumstance that often prevents
them from pursuing higher education or making other meaningful
contributions to our Nation. The bill recognizes the accomplishments of
successful students who want to serve our Nation through military
service or by obtaining degrees in higher education.
The DREAM Act offers a path to lawful immigration status to
individuals who are currently undocumented, but who were brought to the
United States at a young age by their parents. The bill is specifically
drafted to assist those students who did not act on their own volition
to enter the United States unlawfully. In landmark Supreme Court cases
like Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court held that we should not punish
children for the actions of their parents. Yet to deny these students a
path to lawful status and eventual citizenship does just that.
In December 2009, the Department of Defense cited passage of the
DREAM Act as an important strategic goal for 2010-2012. The Pentagon
believes that the DREAM Act has potential to expand our all-volunteer
military without decreasing the quality of recruits. It is supported by
General Colin Powell and many others.
Despite numerous good faith gestures from Democrats in the Senate to
work with Republicans on immigration issues, we have been met with
silence at best, and obstructionism at worst. Nonetheless, the version
of the DREAM Act that we consider today has been modified to address
concerns raised by those who have falsely labeled the DREAM Act as a
form of amnesty. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that
H.R.6497 will reduce deficits by approximately $2.2 billion over the
years from 2011-2020.
While the cost saving in the new version of the DREAM Act is welcome
news, I regret that the students and soldiers who benefit from this
bill will now have to wait for 10 years to become eligible to apply for
lawful permanent residence. They will have to apply for conditional
status twice during that 10 year period and pay more than $2,500 in
fees. I believe that American values call for more generous treatment
of individuals who serve our Nation, especially those who are willing
to fight on behalf of our Nation overseas. At various points in the
past 10 years, several Republican Senators voted in favor of much more
generous versions of this bill. I regret that so few Republicans will
support this pared down version of the DREAM Act today.
I wish that we could have achieved bipartisan support in the 111th
Congress to enact a comprehensive immigration reform bill. Even without
that bipartisan commitment, we should do all we can. The AgJOBS bill,
the Uniting American Families Act, the Refugee Protection Act, and the
improvement of our immigrant investor program are all reforms that will
make our immigration system stronger and more effective. I will
continue to work with Senate leadership and Senators from both sides of
the aisle to accomplish our shared goals for the broader reform of our
Nation's immigration system.
The DREAM Act is a critical step to reforming our immigration system
and enables a well-deserving group of young people to better serve our
country. I am glad to pledge my full support, and I encourage Senators
on both sides of the aisle to do the same.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in strong support
of the DREAM Act.
The DREAM Act provides individuals who were brought to the United
States as young children, at the age of 15 or younger, with the
opportunity to legalize their status if they work hard, stay out of
trouble, graduate high school, and eventually go to college or enlist
in the Armed Forces.
Passage of the DREAM Act is the right course of action for a variety
of economic and humanitarian reasons. But it also makes sense in terms
of strengthening our military's ability to attract talented recruits.
For almost a decade now our Nation's military forces have been
deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. We rely on the courage, commitment,
and dedication of an all volunteer force to fill the ranks of the
military services. With the stress and hardship of repeated deployments
and wartime service, the military has often struggled to maintain
appropriate recruitment levels and standards.
According to the Department of Defense, enacting the DREAM Act would
help address this issue. The fiscal year
[[Page S10503]]
2010-2020 Strategic Plan for the Defense Department provides that
passage of the DREAM Act would help ensure we maintain a mission-ready
all volunteer force. As explained by then Under Secretary of Defense
David Chu in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee:
many of these young people may wish to join the military, and
have the attributes needed--education, aptitude, fitness, and
moral qualifications. . . . the DREAM Act would provide these
young people the opportunity of serving the United States in
uniform.
We need to face the reality that we have individuals living in this
country who were brought here unlawfully, but at no fault of their own,
who have the skills and desire to make significant contributions.
Frankly, I fail to see how our Nation benefits from denying hard-
working young people who have grown up in our country from becoming
productive members of our society. What is the benefit of telling a
high school valedictorian who has lived in the United States since the
age of five that he or she can't work, pursue higher education, or
serve in the military?
As a border State Senator, I understand the concerns about illegal
immigration. Over the last several years we have made tremendous
strides in enhancing border security, but I recognize that there is
still more work to be done.
However, penalizing individuals who came to the U.S. as children at
no fault of their own is not the answer. Keeping these young people
from bettering their lives through education or preventing them from
serving our country by enlisting in the military doesn't make our
Nation stronger, more secure, or more economically competitive.
It simply deprives the Armed Forces of the ability to reach out to
the many undocumented students who graduate from high school each year,
and reinforces a permanent class of less-educated workers who are
forced to live in the shadows and who are deprived of the chance to
obtain their full potential.
Over the years I have had the opportunity to meet with some of the
young people who would benefit from this legislation. Their request is
quite simple--that they be given the chance to serve the country where
they have grown up, to make a difference in their communities, and to
better their lives. These are the values, spirit, and dedication that
have made America great, and I urge my colleagues to let them earn this
opportunity.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I am a strong supporter and proud co-
sponsor of the DREAM Act. This narrowly tailored, bipartisan
legislation, introduced in the Senate by my colleague, Senator Durbin,
and supported by 40 other Senators, would allow young, undocumented
immigrants who grew up in the United States to earn legal residency by
obtaining a higher education or joining the military. I have
cosponsored the DREAM Act for one simple reason: It will enable these
young people--who find themselves undocumented in America not due to
their own actions, but due to actions of their parents--to reach their
potential and contribute to a stronger, more prosperous America.
This legislation has been endorsed by the Secretaries of Defense,
Homeland Security, Education, Labor, and Interior. It has been endorsed
by numerous former Republican officials, including many from the Bush
administration, and has been cosponsored by many of our current and
former Republican colleagues here in the Senate. It is supported by
colleges and universities in Iowa and across the United States, as well
as religious leaders from a wide range of denominations.
The young people who would qualify under the DREAM Act came here as
children. Some came here so early in their lives that they have no
memory of living anywhere other than in the United States. Despite the
actions of their parents, they are just as American as you and I. Their
stories in letters to my office are heartbreaking. If it weren't for
the actions of their parents, they would be citizens no different from
our own sons and daughters.
These children graduate from high school with honors. They play on
our school soccer, football, and basketball teams. They are in the
Junior ROTC. They spend time with their friends--friends who may be our
own sons and daughters. They want to work afterschool jobs, if they
were only allowed to work legally. They want to attend college, if they
were only allowed to get the student loans necessary to afford it. They
want to serve our country, if only they were allowed to enlist.
Yet there are still some who wish to punish these children for the
actions of their parents. They say that children who have no control
over the decisions of their families must pay the same price as the
adults. I am frankly at a loss as to whether there is any other crime
that could be committed where an innocent child would be treated as an
accessory to an adult, or where the penalty for a child with no ill
intent is the same as for an informed adult.
The young men and women who would benefit from this legislation are
some of the finest, most upstanding people living in the United States.
With an education, they can contribute their great talents to our
economy, driving innovation and creating jobs. They are committed to
the country they consider home, willing to serve under the American
flag, willing to fight and die for our country at a time when our
military is stretched perilously thin. I want to encourage these
energetic, motivated and dedicated young men and women, not maintain
the status quo which casts a dark shadow over them.
I would also like to address some common misunderstandings about who
would qualify to obtain legal residency under the DREAM Act. These
young people would have had to come to the U.S. by the age of 15,
display good moral character, pass thorough criminal and security
clearances, and have lived in the United States for at least 5 years.
Only those currently under 30 years of age would be eligible. Legal
permanent status would not be conferred until after 10 years. They
could only sponsor parents or siblings, and only do so after 12 years
have passed, and only after any member of their family who has entered
the United States illegally has left the United States for 10 years.
Every precaution has been taken to prevent the opportunities afforded
by the DREAM Act from being abused.
Those who qualify under the DREAM Act would not receive any benefits
that naturally born citizens receive. They would only be eligible to
apply for Federal student loans that would have to be repaid in full;
they would not be eligible for in-state tuition rates or Federal
education grants, such as Pell grants. They would receive no
preferential treatment.
I remain committed to working with my colleagues for a comprehensive
solution to our Nation's broken immigration system. We must strengthen
our borders, holding employers accountable if they hire illegal
workers, and craft policies that are fair to American workers and
taxpayers. But in the meantime, it does not make sense to prevent this
small group of young people, already present in the U.S. through no
fault of their own, from contributing to our Nation's security and
economy.
Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the DREAM
Act. This legislation is critically important. Not only is this a
humanitarian issue, but also an economic and security issue. In order
to compete in a 21st century world, we must provide education
opportunities to all of our students.
Our current laws unfairly penalize thousands of young adults, many of
whom know only the United States as home, denying them the opportunity
to achieve the American dream. Current law paralyzes the lives of these
young people, effectively banning them from college and the military.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has publically advocated in
support of the DREAM Act, calling it crucial to our national security
and our ability to compete in the global marketplace in the coming
generations. In a time when our military is strained because of demands
in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places of concern around the world, we
should be allowing all of our best and our brightest to serve.
The DREAM Act allows young people with good moral character who
attend college or provide significant service to our military with an
earned path to citizenship. These are young people who received all
their education in the
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United States and know only the United States as home. We need
comprehensive immigration reform, but this is an instance where current
law is unfairly penalizing thousands of young adults who did nothing
wrong.
I want to take this opportunity to highlight the story of a young New
Yorker who exemplifies the DREAM Act. Cesar Vargas was brought by his
parents to the United States when he was only 5 years old. It was not
his decision to come here, but he grew up in New York, graduated from
high school, completed college, and is now in his final year of school
at City University of New York School of Law, with a 3.8 GPA. He dreams
of becoming a military lawyer after he graduates. But, he cannot
fulfill his dream of serving in our military because he is
undocumented. Our country would benefit from the dedication of young
men and women like Cesar, who grew up as our neighbors and our
children's class mates and friends--young men and women who want to
serve this great nation of immigrants and give back to the country they
call home.
This legislation creates opportunities for young people who did not
come here on their own choosing, and ensures that they will become
productive members of our society. For these reasons, I support this
measure and I implore my colleagues in the Senate to vote in support of
this measure, as well.
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, I wish to reiterate what I have
long believed to be the right step to take in addressing a longstanding
issue that affects young people in my State of Colorado and across this
country. That step is to pass legislation known as the DREAM Act that
will ensure that upstanding young adults who were brought into this
country illegally by no fault of their own have the opportunity to
attend college and contribute to our economy or join the military and
serve our country.
Just over 3 years ago there was a large bipartisan group of Senators
that understood that children who were brought to this country by no
fault of their own should not be blamed for the sins of their parents.
It is mind-boggling to me that we now have to struggle to get those
same Members who are still in the Senate today to support that
commonsense notion, which underlies the DREAM Act. I respect the
decisions of my colleagues and I want to give my colleagues who have
had a change of heart the benefit of the doubt, but my guess is that
partisanship is what has prevailed here. I believe this because the
bipartisan-approved legislation that the House of Representatives has
sent us is more stringent than previous versions of this legislation
that was once sponsored and supported by both Republicans and
Democrats.
When you run down the list of fees, restrictions, requirements,
waiting periods, and other criteria for eligibility in the DREAM Act,
you begin to see that this is a robust plan to give high-achieving
young people an opportunity to contribute positively to our country.
Not only will individuals who were brought to this country before the
age of 16 have to prove they have been in the United States for at
least 5 years before applying, they will also have to show that they
are in good health, pass a background check, provide biometric data,
and pay fees and taxes. Only then will they be allowed to enter a
``conditional non-immigrant'' status that would allow them to pursue
their education or enter the military.
During the 10 years of their conditional status, they would be
ineligible for entitlement programs such as welfare, Federal education
grants and would be unable to sponsor family members for immigration
purposes. They would also have to remain in good standing with the law
and prove that they have command of the English language and American
civics. If they meet those and other requirements after 10 years, they
will then have to get in at the back of the line to wait their turn for
a minimum of 3 more years--for an opportunity to naturalize as U.S.
citizens. That seems more than fair to me.
The DREAM Act provides a robust and fair-minded plan to help America
attract bright and talented individuals to contribute to our economy
and strengthen our military. As military leaders who have served under
Presidents of both parties have said, this bill will strengthen our
readiness by giving these young men and women the chance to join our
armed services. Furthermore, studies have shown that students who can
realize their full earning potential can ultimately help pump billions
of dollars back into our economy. These individuals are future
businessmen, scientists, and innovators that could help our economy
grow. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office has determined that this
legislation would even help to reduce our deficit.
The DREAM Act has been debated for several years. It is finally time
for us to do what is right in this situation, put aside partisanship
and support this legislation.
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