[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 188 (Thursday, December 8, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8448-S8449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             THE DREAM ACT

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, it has been 10 years since I introduced 
the DREAM Act, legislation that will allow a select group of immigrant 
students with great potential to contribute to America. The DREAM Act 
would give these students a chance to become legal in America. They 
came to the United States as children. They have to be long-term 
residents of our country, have good moral character, graduate from high 
school, and complete 2 years of college or military service in good 
standing. Those are the basic standards we apply.
  I think if we enacted the DREAM Act, as I have tried to for many 
years, it would make America a stronger country, giving these talented 
young immigrants a chance to serve in our military and make us a 
stronger nation. Tens of thousands of highly qualified, well-educated 
young people would enlist in the Armed Forces if the DREAM Act becomes 
law. We have the support of the Department of Defense and the 
President. They understand that these young people could make us a 
stronger and safer nation by serving in our military. And they are 
willing. Many of them are willing to risk their lives for this country.
  Studies have also found that these DREAM Act participants could 
literally build our economy in years to come with their talent.
  Remember, these students we are talking about were brought to America 
as children and as infants. They grew up here believing they were 
Americans. They went to class every day, pledged allegiance to the only 
flag they knew, and sang the only national anthem they had ever heard. 
They are American in their hearts, and they should not be punished 
because their parents made a decision to bring them here.
  These young people are tomorrow's doctors, engineers, soldiers, 
teachers. They are the people with whom we can build an America on. We 
should not squander their talent by deporting them to countries they 
may not remember at all.
  Last year, Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana joined me in 
asking the Department of Homeland Security to suspend the deportation 
of these DREAM Act students. Now, for the record, if there is any 
evidence of wrongdoing by these students, they are completely 
disqualified from this conversation. We are talking about students of 
good moral character who are in the United States basically without a 
country.
  Earlier this year, Senator Lugar and I were joined in our request by 
21 other Senators, including majority leader Harry Reid, Judiciary 
Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, and Senator Bob Menendez, asking that 
these DREAM Act students be given an opportunity to stay and not be 
deported. In response to our letters, John Morton, the Director of 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, issued a memo in June of this year 
establishing new priorities for deportation. The Morton memo says: It 
is a high priority to deport those who have committed serious crimes or 
those who are a threat to public safety, while it is a low priority to 
deport individuals who have been in the United States since childhood, 
like those who are eligible for the DREAM Act.
  During hearings this summer on the DREAM Act, Homeland Security 
Secretary Janet Napolitano told me and my subcommittee that the 
Department of Homeland Security would establish a process to implement 
the Morton memo. Under this new process, high-priority cases will be 
expedited, and low-priority cases will be closed in many instances.
  Recently, the Department of Homeland Security announced the next step 
in the process. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and 
attorneys will receive comprehensive training on the new deportation 
policy. By January, all ICE officers and attorneys will have the 
training they need. ICE attorneys will review all new deportation cases 
to identify low-priority cases that should not be placed in the 
immigration court.
  A review of the cases currently in immigration court is also 
underway. Department of Homeland Security attorneys will review pending 
deportation cases in Baltimore and Denver to identify-low priority 
cases that should be removed from the docket. This trial review of new 
and pending cases will be completed by mid-January and then expanded 
nationwide.
  Let me commend the President and his administration for these 
thoughtful and humane steps to implement this new deportation policy.
  Today, there are approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants in 
the United States. It would take billions and billions of dollars to 
deport all of them. It would likely lead to the collapse of many parts 
of our economy. You can't go to a hotel or restaurant in the city of 
Chicago--I have been told this by restaurant owners--and not find at 
least some place in that establishment an undocumented person doing the 
tough, hard work immigrants do.
  DHS has to set priorities about which people to deport--and not 
deport--using its limited resources. Some of my Republican colleagues 
have claimed that this is kind of a backdoor amnesty. That could not be 
further from the truth. This is simply a temporary decision not to use 
limited government resources to deport low-priority individuals who are 
no threat to the United States of America. Individuals whose cases are 
closed will not receive any permanent legal status. So there is no 
amnesty involved.
  Ironically, some Republican critics of the administration's new 
policy called on the Clinton administration to establish deportation 
guidelines--exactly what the Obama administration has done here. In 
response to this request from some Republicans in Congress, the Clinton 
administration established a policy on prosecutorial discretion.

[[Page S8449]]

The Bush administration kept the policy in force from the Clinton years 
and issued several followup memos without any criticism from any 
Republicans in Congress. The Bush administration also stopped 
deportations of a number of DREAM Act students, again without any 
criticism from Republican Members.
  Let's be clear. What the Obama administration has done in 
establishing this new process for prioritizing deportations is 
perfectly appropriate and legal. Throughout our history, our government 
has had to decide who to prosecute and who not to prosecute based on 
law enforcement priorities and available resources.
  I strongly support the administration's new deportation policy but 
more needs to be done to implement this policy and it needs to be done 
quickly. Many young people who would be eligible for the DREAM Act are 
still facing deportation proceedings. Almost every day my office is 
contacted by DREAM Act students who are at risk of being deported in a 
matter of hours or days. Today, let me tell you the story of two of 
these young people.
  Here is a photo of Minhaz Khan. Eighteen years ago, in 1992, Minhaz 
Khan's parents brought him to the United States from Bangladesh. At the 
time, he was 4 years old. Today, Minhaz is 22--18 years later--and he 
has overcome amazing obstacles to complete his education. In 2009, 
Minhaz graduated from the University of California Riverside with a 
bachelor's degree in neuroscience.
  Minhaz sent me a letter, and here is what he said about his future:

       My dream is to make several contributions to science, and 
     become a physician's assistant as a career, and eventually a 
     teacher as well. I have great aspirations, but I do not dream 
     of big houses or tons of cars. I want normality, stability, 
     and liberty.

  Today, Minhaz lives in Palo Alto, CA, with his wife, who is an 
American citizen. Minhaz's wife has filed an application for her 
husband to become an American citizen, but under our broken immigration 
laws he has been placed instead in deportation proceedings. Eighteen 
years in the United States, a bachelor's degree in neuroscience, 
aspiring to become a researcher or teacher, married to an American 
citizen, and he is under threat of being deported. What threat is he to 
America? The threat is losing a person who is talented and can make 
such a difference in the lives of so many people.
  Minhaz was scheduled to be deported last month. Under President 
Obama's new deportation policy, the Department of Homeland Security put 
his deportation on hold for 3 months so that his application for legal 
status can be considered. I think that was the right thing to do. 
Minhaz grew up in America, he is married to an American, and he wants 
to make America a better nation.
  In his letter to me, Minhaz spoke about what it would mean to him if 
the DREAM Act became law.

       Imagine the countless numbers of individuals ready to 
     contribute to our society as law-abiding, successful 
     individuals who live life with a sense of strength and 
     morality. Abraham Lincoln once said, ``I have always found 
     that mercy bears richer fruit than strict justice,'' and this 
     is more true now than ever. I have a great amount of hope, 
     optimism, and belief in this country and that one day we 
     shall see the DREAM Act enacted into law.

  Here is another DREAMer. This is a photo of Jose Librojo. In 1995, 
when he was a child--16 years ago--Jose's parents brought him from the 
Philippines to the United States. Shortly after they arrived here, 
Jose's parents filed an application to stay in this country as legal 
permanent residents. For more than 15 years, their immigration 
application has been stuck in the courts.
  In the meantime, Jose grew up in America. He graduated from San 
Francisco State University with a bachelor's degree in biology. As a 
member of Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity, Jose volunteers, 
working with the elderly and young Asian Americans, among other things.
  Jose has been authorized to work while his immigration case is 
pending. For more than 10 years, he worked as a registered dental 
assistant and a dental laboratory x-ray technician. The dentist who 
employs him was so impressed by his work, he filed papers to sponsor 
Jose for legal permanent residency in the United States. The employer's 
petition was approved, but because of our broken immigration laws, Jose 
has been placed in deportation proceedings. After all of these years in 
America--16 years--and earning a bachelor's degree in biology, 
currently working in the health field in dentistry, and one who has 
done such a good job that his employer wants to have him here 
permanently, he is now facing the prospect of being deported to a 
country he cannot even remember.
  Jose was scheduled to be deported last month, 3 days before 
Thanksgiving. But the Department of Homeland Security put his 
deportation on hold, so he will have a chance to apply for legal status 
and keep working.
  Jose sent me a letter, and this is what he said:

       I have followed the laws of our system, but the logjam in 
     the courts has put me in this untimely predicament. I have 
     lived in the U.S. for 16 years, and I consider this country 
     as my home. I have always felt like an American. I wish to 
     stay, live my dreams, and build my own family here in the 
     United States. I hope that someday the DREAM Act becomes a 
     reality so that I may continue making contributions to the 
     country I call home.

  I ask my colleagues who are critical of the administration's 
deportation policy, would America be better off if we deported Minhaz 
or Jose back to Bangladesh and the Philippines? I don't think so. These 
two young men were brought here as infants, children. They grew up in 
our country. They have overcome great odds and achieved great academic 
success, without the support of Federal assistance. They didn't qualify 
for it. They have no problems with moral character, and they pose no 
threat to America. They would make us a better country if we gave them 
a chance.
  Minhaz and Jose are not isolated examples. There are literally 
thousands of others like them in this country. We have a responsibility 
in the Senate to give them a chance to let them prove what they can do 
for America.
  I commend the Obama administration for its new deportation policies. 
I urge the Department of Homeland Security to move forward on an 
expedited basis. As long as young people such as Minhaz Khan and Jose 
Librojo are facing deportation, work still needs to be done.
  It is also clear that this policy is only a temporary solution. The 
deportations of many DREAM Act students will be temporarily suspended. 
Ultimately, the responsibility lies with Congress and with us to fix 
these broken immigration laws and give these good young people a 
chance.
  I ask my colleagues to support the DREAM Act. It is the right thing 
to do. It will make America a stronger nation.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Durbin). The Senator from Minnesota.

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