[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 82 (Tuesday, June 11, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4070-S4071]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           IMMIGRATION REFORM

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, it is important that everyone keeps their 
word.
  I am pleased the Republican leader acknowledged that the immigration 
system is broken and needs fixing, and we will have a full and open 
debate on this over the next 3 weeks. That is very good. I am very glad 
to hear the Republican leader will vote to help us move forward on this 
legislation.
  For 15 years, James Courtney fought for this country as a Member of 
the U.S. Army. He did that for a decade and a half.

  For most of those 15 years, James' wife Sharon was at home in Las 
Vegas fighting being deported. She has lived in America since she was a 
young teenager. She speaks fluent English. She has three sons with her 
husband James, and he has been her husband for 13 years.
  She has supported James through three tours of duty in Iraq where he 
was wounded significantly, suffered brain injury, and because of his 
wounds had to retire medically from the military. But because she is in 
the United States without the proper paperwork, she has lived with the 
fear that she, on any given day, would be deported back to Mexico and 
her family would be torn apart.

[[Page S4071]]

  Servicemembers and veterans of the U.S. military--and their family 
members who support them--deserve a better life than worry and fear.
  In March, just a few weeks ago, James and Sharon came to Washington. 
They came with hundreds of other immigrants who are concerned about 
being deported. They are concerned about immigration reform. They know 
the system is broken and needs to be fixed. This is what James said:

       I did what my country asked me to do. Now I'm asking my 
     country to keep us together for the sake of humanity and 
     freedom.

  James spoke about keeping his three American children together with 
the mother of those three children, his wife.
  When I heard James and Sharon's story, I was recommitted to doing 
something to help them. And I did. Not only is Sharon a wonderful 
mother and wife, she is also caretaker to her disabled husband. Her 
family needs her.
  Last month, James and Sharon learned that immigration officials have 
deferred her status, her deportation. She is no longer in immediate 
danger of being separated from her family.
  See, Mr. President, she was a DREAMer, and that is who President 
Obama stepped forward to help. In effect, what this did is it allowed 
her to stay and care for her husband and three children. Her children 
are 16, 11, and 8 years of age.
  While I was happy to help James and Sharon, it is unfortunate that 
they needed any help in the first place. When our servicemembers are 
fighting overseas, they should be focused on the difficult and 
dangerous job they face--not worried about their family members back 
home.
  Think about that. If she had been deported while he was overseas, 
what would the three boys do? Dad is overseas. They are Americans. They 
were born here.
  No veteran of the U.S. military should have to fight to keep his 
wife, the caretaker of his children, by his side. Her story is 
compelling. Their story is compelling. But there are millions of 
stories just like it--stories of mothers and fathers terrified of being 
torn away from their U.S. citizen children; stories of young men and 
women fearful of being deported from the only country they know, they 
have ever called home; stories of families forced to live in the 
shadows despite coming to America in search of a brighter future.
  There are 11 million reasons to pass commonsense immigration reform 
that mends our broken system--11 million stories of fear of being 
deported, fear of heartbreak, fear of suffering, and actual suffering 
they have facing them every day worrying about if they can go to the 
store, do they have to stay home. They certainly cannot travel. But for 
this fine young woman, that has been taken away because of President 
Obama.
  These stories should motivate Congress to act. The bipartisan 
proposal before this body takes important steps to strengthen border 
security. It is remarkable what we already have there. We have drones, 
700 miles of fencing. We have sensors. We have fixed-wing aircraft 
flying around with helicopters. We have 21,000 Border Patrol agents. 
But if there are ways people believe we could do better on security 
that is important, that is not just some reason to try to kill this 
legislation, let's take a look at it.
  I spoke this morning with the chairman of the Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Carper. He has some ideas. He 
is preparing amendments. I like Senator Carper always. He is very 
thoughtful, and I am sure he will do something that he believes would 
improve the situation on the border. He has gone, as a member of that 
committee and chairman of that committee, all over the southern part of 
this country looking at what is happening on the border.
  So the bipartisan proposal before the Senate takes important steps to 
strengthen border security. It also makes crucial improvements to our 
broken immigration system so families like James and Sharon's are never 
subject to this kind of anguish again.
  While this legislation is not an instant fix for families, it does 
provide a pathway to earned citizenship. It does not put them at the 
front of the line. It puts them at the back of the line. They have to 
stay out of trouble. They have to work, pay taxes, and focus on 
learning English. That is what it is about.
  Passing meaningful immigration reform will be good for our national 
security, it will be good for the economy, it will be good for James 
and Sharon Courtney and millions of families just like them.
  James is a veteran who sacrificed his time and his health to keep 
this Nation safe from harm. He is now disabled. We can at least thank 
him by keeping his family safe--and together.

                          ____________________