[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 172 (Wednesday, October 25, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6780-S6781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                  DACA

  Mr. President, let me address the issue of the Dreamers. It is one 
that I have spoken to many times before, and I would like to address it 
at this point.
  On September 5, about 7 weeks ago today, Attorney General Jeff 
Sessions announced the Trump administration's repeal of the Deferred 
Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, better known as DACA.
  DACA provided temporary legal status to immigrant students if they 
registered with the government, paid a fee, went through a criminal 
background check and a national security check, and did that on a 
renewable basis every 2 years.
  The young people protected by that Executive order are known as 
Dreamers. They came to the United States as children, brought here by 
their parents. They grew up in our schools, singing our ``Star-Spangled 
Banner,'' pledging allegiance to the only flag they have ever known. 
Seven years ago, I asked President Obama, in a letter that I sent with 
then-Republican-Senator Dick Lugar, to create a program to protect 
these young people and give them a chance to earn their way into legal 
status. The President responded to our request, and almost 800,000 have 
signed up.
  Now, with President Trump's announcement that he is going to 
eliminate this program, the clock is ticking. By March 5, 2018, every 
workday for the following 2 years, approximately 1,400 of these 
Dreamers protected by DACA will lose their work permits and will be 
subject to deportation. Mr. President, 1,400 a day who signed up for 
this program, as of March 5 next year, will hear the clock ticking. 
Teachers will be forced to leave their students, nurses to leave their 
patients, first responders to leave their posts, and soldiers who are 
willing to fight for their country will be forced to leave the Army if 
this happens. It is an outcome that none of us want to see, I hope.
  It isn't just a looming humanitarian crisis; it is economic too. The 
nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says that DACA-
eligible individuals contribute about $2 billion a year to our economy. 
They are working. They are going to school. These are productive people 
who against the odds have succeeded in life and want to do more.
  The Cato Institute--no liberal think tank--estimates that ending DACA 
and deporting DACA recipients would cost $60 billion and result in a 
$280 billion reduction in economic growth over the next 10 years.
  Poll after poll shows overwhelming bipartisan support for the 
Dreamers. Even FOX News--no liberal media outlet--recently found that 
79 percent of Americans support a path to citizenship for Dreamers--79 
percent. What percentage of Republicans support it? According to the 
FOX poll, 63 percent of Donald Trump voters believe that Dreamers 
should be given a chance at citizenship.
  The answer is clear: We need to pass the DREAM Act, and we need to do 
it before we leave Washington in the next few weeks. It was 16 years 
ago that I first introduced it. We have had our ups and downs. We have 
passed it at some time on the floor of the Senate and then again in the 
House of Representatives but never quite at the same moment so that it 
became the law of the land.
  Over the years, I have told over 100 stories about the Dreamers. This 
is another one I want to share with you. This is a story about William 
Medeiros. William was 6 years old when his family moved to the United 
States from Brazil. He grew up in Boston and then moved to Florida. In 
high school, he was an honor student. He graduated with a 3.8 GPA. He 
was an athlete, playing high school soccer and football. He is now a 
student at the University of Central Florida. He has a 3.5 GPA. He will 
graduate in the spring of 2019 with a bachelor's degree in criminal 
justice.
  He is working full time to support himself. Because he is a DACA 
recipient, he isn't eligible for any Federal financial assistance to go 
to college. He has to work his way through school, and he is doing it. 
His dream is that he wants to be part of America's military. Then, 
after serving his country, he wants to be an officer with his local 
police department. Thanks to DACA, he is on his way.
  Last year, he enlisted in the Army through the MAVNI Program. In this 
photo, he is shown with his recruiter from his enlistment ceremony. The 
MAVNI Program allows immigrants like him, who are vital to the national 
interest, to enlist in the Armed Forces. More than 800 DACA recipients 
with these critical skills have had their dream come true. They have 
volunteered to serve America in our military.
  Some Trump administration officials have claimed that DACA recipients 
are taking jobs away from Americans. But William and hundreds more like 
him have vital skills that our military desperately needs, and they 
want him to serve our country. William, along with many Dreamers, is 
now waiting to ship to basic training. He continues his undergraduate 
studies and is working full time while waiting for his first chance to 
serve.
  He wrote me a letter, and here is what he said: ``My desire to serve 
this nation and help people, to pay back my dues for everything I have 
received from this great country, and to lead by example by showing my 
fellow DACA members that anything is possible with hard work, 
perseverance, and dedication.''
  Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that this young man, William, 
desperate to serve our country and to be a law enforcement officer, 
will be an asset to the United States, a source of pride for all of us? 
Of course not. If DACA goes away and is not replaced, if this young man 
loses that opportunity, America will lose an important part of its 
future.
  I was at the Phoenix Military Academy, one of six military academies 
within the Chicago public schools, just last week. I am proud to say 
that our Chicago public school system hosts the largest ROTC Program in 
America, with 10,000 cadets from school to school. It turns out that 
many of them are DACA Dreamers. They want to serve our country just 
like William. I was joined by COL Daniel Baggio, who runs the Junior 
ROTC Program. His grandfather was an immigrant who served in the U.S. 
Army during World War I. Colonel Baggio certainly understands the 
important role immigrants play in our Armed Forces.
  William Medeiros and other Dreamers have so much to give America, but 
without the Dream Act, William and hundreds of other immigrants with 
skills that are vital to the national interest will literally be kicked 
out of the Army. Thousands of Junior ROTC cadets in Chicago will never 
realize their dream of volunteering to enlist in America's military. 
They want to serve. They are willing to risk their lives for our 
country. How can we let them down?

[[Page S6781]]

  When we introduced the Dream Act, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican 
of South Carolina, said: ``The moment of reckoning is coming.'' It is 
coming in a manner of days and weeks. I implore my colleagues and both 
sides of the aisle: Don't let that young man down. Don't let down the 
hundreds of thousands who just want a chance to prove themselves and 
earn their way into legal status. We can do this.
  Many people are skeptical as to whether Congress can get anything 
done on a bipartisan basis. I am not skeptical. I believe it can. I 
believe that we can work together. I have sat down with a lot of 
conservative Republican Senators in my office--Senators I never dreamed 
I would be sitting with, discussing this issue, and now we want to make 
sure we get this job done.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.


       PROVIDING FOR A CORRECTION IN THE ENROLLMENT OF H.R. 2266

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that, as in 
legislative session, the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration 
of H. Con. Res. 85, which was received from the House.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the concurrent 
resolution by title.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 85) providing for a 
     correction in the enrollment of H.R. 2266.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or 
debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 85) was agreed to.

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