[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 177 (Thursday, December 8, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6876-S6877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  DACA

  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to share the 
story of an incredible DREAMer from my home State of New Mexico, but 
first I would like to commend my colleague, Senator Dick Durbin of 
Illinois, for his tremendous leadership in standing up for DREAMers--
young undocumented immigrants who are brought to the United States as 
children. I am proud to join him in this effort.
  Four years ago, the President announced that DREAMers would have the 
opportunity to apply for temporary protection from deportation through 
the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, known as DACA. 
Today, more than half a million young people across the country have 
benefited from DACA, including more than 6,500 in my home State of New 
Mexico.
  Across this country, there are DREAMers working to become doctors, 
scientists, lawyers, and engineers. They want to start businesses and 
teach in our classrooms and serve in our military. DREAMers want to 
earn an education and contribute to our economy, to pay taxes and give 
back to their communities and their country. I would argue that most 
DREAMers don't know how to be anything but Americans.
  Over the last month, I have heard from many New Mexicans who are 
fearful and uncertain about just how the new Trump administration could 
impact their community, their neighbors, their friends. This is 
particularly true for the thousands of young people who applied for 
temporary status under the DACA Program.
  Over the last few years, I have come down to the floor to tell 
stories of DREAMers from my home. I told the story of twin sisters who 
graduated from college and are now both seeking advanced degrees, one 
in law, one in medicine. I told the story of a young man who applied 
for DACA and wanted to pursue graduate school for biology. I am happy 
to report that he is currently studying to earn a joint Ph.D. and M.D., 
with the hope of working on disease prevention. I will continue to tell 
the inspiring stories of DREAMers who demonstrate why we should protect 
them from deportation.
  Today, I would like to tell you about one of those New Mexicans, 
someone I heard from last week when I held a listening session with 
community and faith leaders, immigrant rights advocates, and DREAMers 
from across New Mexico. She and her family live in the Mesilla Valley 
in southern New Mexico.
  The Mesilla Valley is a rich agricultural region. It is home to dairy 
farms, pecan orchards, and many of New Mexico's famed green chile 
fields. Generations of farmers and families in the Mesilla Valley have 
shaped the rich history and, fundamentally, the culture of my home 
State.
  Today, families like the family of the DREAMer I heard from are 
working hard each and every day to improve their community, many of 
which lack adequate transportation and water infrastructure. They are 
working to create a better future for the next generation.
  This young woman's strength is rooted in her family and in her faith. 
She is the oldest child in her family and is the first person in her 
family to seek higher education. She told me that through her education 
and her work ethic, she wants to set an example to her five younger 
brothers and sisters. She teaches catechism classes for children at her 
church, where she also helps with fundraisers, cooks meals, and assists 
with church events.
  Since graduating from high school, she has started working toward her 
associate's degree in nursing. In a State like New Mexico, where we 
badly need more nurses and medical professionals in our rural and 
underserved communities, her professional dreams and aspirations are 
truly critical.
  DACA allowed her to get a work permit to hold a job that assists her 
in paying for her education, for her textbooks, but now, with the 
President-elect pledging to rescind DACA, this young woman fears that 
everything she has worked so hard to achieve could be lost. She fears 
that her family will be separated and that she might be deported from 
the only community she knows and the community she calls home. She told 
me, ``If [DACA] were to

[[Page S6877]]

be removed, then my dream would be destroyed.''
  This young woman's dream and her drive to give back to her community 
in southern New Mexico are incredible, but her story is far from 
unique. Her story is similar to thousands of other DREAMers in my home 
State and hundreds of thousands across our country, some of whom have 
escaped unthinkable hardships. They are working to contribute to their 
communities and to create a brighter future. These DREAMers should be 
met with compassion.
  During my listening session, I also heard from a Catholic priest who 
serves many immigrant families in his parish. He said he was deeply 
impacted by hearing this young woman's story during our listening 
session. He told me that her story ``reflects exactly what [he's] seen 
and heard from many families not only from [his] parish but also from 
neighboring parishes.'' He said, ``There is a lot of fear and people 
are so concerned and worried--especially families--[about] what can 
happen after the election.''
  I want to make it very clear that in the coming years, I will not 
waiver in standing up for all New Mexicans in my role in the Senate. We 
should never be a country that kicks out some of our best and brightest 
students, and we should not be a nation that tears families apart. I 
will not stand for policies that are contrary to our fundamental 
American ideas and values.
  I would like to thank the young woman who shared her story with me 
for having the courage to speak out, particularly with the uncertainty 
of her situation and in the wake of the recent election. The idea that 
young men and women like this hard-working nursing student in southern 
New Mexico will have to retreat back into the shadows or fear being 
removed from their homes as a consequence of congressional inaction on 
immigration reform is simply unconscionable.
  I am calling for the Obama administration to take every possible 
legal action to protect DREAMers--individuals who are American in every 
way but for their immigration status--so that they are not targeted for 
removal by the incoming administration. Last week, I sent a letter to 
the White House urging President Obama to use his pardon authority to 
protect DREAMers from deportation.
  I also plan to continue pushing for comprehensive immigration reform 
in the new Congress, which I still strongly believe has bipartisan 
support among my colleagues--those colleagues who want real solutions 
rather than rancorous rhetoric. We need to modernize our immigration 
system to meet the needs of our economy and provide an accountable 
pathway to earn citizenship for the undocumented workers living here in 
the shadows, including making the DREAM Act law.
  As southwest border security is discussed in the context of 
immigration reform, I will continue to be focused on pragmatic and 
accountable policy decisions that include the many concerns of our 
border communities. As the son of an immigrant myself, I am familiar 
with the unique promise that America represents for so many families. I 
am grateful that when my father and my grandparents fled Germany in the 
years leading up to World War II, our country chose to see them for 
what they were--enthusiastic American immigrants.
  Our Nation's remarkable spirit is rooted in our diversity, our 
history, and our culture, which has always been enriched by our 
immigrant communities and their family members. I encourage my 
colleagues and our incoming President-elect to look at the human faces 
of our broken immigration system and to work toward real solutions.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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