[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 101 (Tuesday, June 23, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4541-S4542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    3RD ANNIVERSARY OF DACA PROGRAM

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today I commemorate the 3-year 
anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, 
commonly referred to as DACA. This program has played a vital role in 
empowering the Nation's undocumented immigrant youth population.
  Many of these young people were brought to the United States at a 
young age, through no fault of their own, and know no other home or 
country. They are woven into the fabric of California and this country. 
At school, they are taught American history, culture, and values. They 
strive to achieve the American dream.
  The DACA Program enables such youth to fulfill their potential and 
thus to maximize their contribution to their families, communities, and 
this country. President Obama announced the DACA Program in June 2012 
to protect

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eligible young people from deportation for a 2-year period, while 
Congress considered comprehensive immigration reform legislation.
  The Senate passed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and 
Immigration Modernization Act with a strong bipartisan majority, 68 to 
32. This bill would have provided a pathway to citizenship for DACA 
grantees and others similarly situated. But the House failed to act, 
and so here we are today without comprehensive immigration reform. 
Although we have not yet succeeded in fixing our broken immigration 
system through congressional action, at least the DACA Program provides 
some temporary reprieve for these young immigrants so that they do not 
live in constant fear of deportation.
  The program enables them to get work authorization, and thus to seek 
higher education and contribute to the American economy. To qualify, an 
individual must have come to the United States when they were under 16 
years of age and lived in the country continuously for at least 5 
years. The individual must also receive an education, pass a background 
check, and pay an application fee.
  The State of California is home to over a quarter of the estimated 
1.8 million young immigrants who potentially meet the criteria of the 
DACA Program. Of the approximately 660,000 DACA applications that have 
been approved since the program's inception in 2012, about 30 percent 
reside in California. This is more than any other State. To help those 
who are eligible, nonprofits, religious organizations, pro bono legal 
networks, and other volunteers in California and nationwide have risen 
to the occasion. They have helped, and continue to help, hundreds of 
thousands of DACA applicants to navigate the filing process.
  The benefits of DACA for these young individuals and for this country 
are undeniable. A recent report published by the University of 
California, Berkeley School of Law found that 66 percent of students 
granted DACA noted a positive change in post-graduate plans and greater 
hope for their future. All of the study's participants come from low-
income households, with 88 percent living below 150 percent of the 
Federal poverty level. Many students reported that parents could not 
assist them with educational costs; and, in some instances, students 
contributed a portion of their own earnings to provide for their 
families. Several students had suffered the deportation of a close 
relative, and over a quarter had a parent or sibling with an active 
case in immigration court.
  Imagine the day-to-day stresses of being a college student: trying to 
excel in the classroom, paying for food and housing, and finding future 
employment. For these students, they must also consider additional 
financial, psychological, and emotional challenges because they--
despite spending their lives in this country--are undocumented. The 
DACA Program gives these young people a measure of stability so they 
can focus on their school work and professional growth and development, 
not on whether they or a loved one will be deported. The DACA Program 
allows them to do just that and look forward.
  The economic impacts of the 2012 DACA Program show that the United 
States has much to gain from enabling eligible undocumented individuals 
to work lawfully within our borders. According to the University of 
California, Los Angeles' North American Integration and Development 
Center ``The DACA program of 2012-2014 appears to have spurred 
extraordinary growth in the earnings of DACA beneficiaries. According 
to the results of two recent surveys, this wage growth surpassed 240 
percent, a number that far exceeds the expectations in the 
literature.''
  All around the country, this time of year is punctuated by graduation 
ceremonies. Parents and grandparents beam as their children and 
grandchildren earn their high school, college, and graduate degrees. 
This year, I was one of those grandparents. My granddaughter, Eileen, 
graduated from Stanford, my alma mater, and I was so proud to attend 
the ceremony. DACA recipients and their families should have that 
feeling too--a feeling of hope for the future, accomplishment, and 
growth, and they should have it without fear of deportation right 
around the corner. That is what this is about.
  So I am pleased to commemorate the 3-year anniversary of the DACA 
Program, and I very much hope we can renew our commitment to passing 
comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

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