[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 10, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2023-S2024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                  DACA

  Mr. President, I have come to this floor over 110 different times to 
introduce to the Senate and to the people who follow our proceedings 
remarkable people who live in the shadows of America. These are 
Dreamers--children who were brought to this country by their parents, 
some at the age of 2 or 3. They were brought into this country perhaps 
on a visitor's visa and stayed. They grew up in America. Then, when 
they were 10 or 12, in some cases, their mother and father sat down and 
said: We need to tell you the truth about who you are and where you 
are.
  These children are undocumented. Their parents didn't file the 
necessary legal papers. They live lives without a country. They have 
grown up here. They always believed they were Americans. They went to 
our schools and stood every day in class and pledged allegiance to that 
flag. They really believed they were part of America, but legally, no, 
they were Dreamers.
  I have tried for 17 years now to pass legislation to give them a 
chance to earn their way to legal status and citizenship. I have had 
some luck from time to time, but we have never quite been able to find 
the necessary votes in both the House and the Senate in the same year.
  A number of years ago, I appealed to my former Senate colleague, 
Barack Obama, and asked President Obama to do what he could to help 
these Dreamers. He created a program called DACA by Executive order. 
Under DACA, these young people could come forward, submit themselves to 
a criminal background check, pay a filing fee, and be protected from 
deportation for 2 years at a time. They had to renew this. So if there 
was any problem, they could lose their protection. That DACA Program 
finally brought 800,000 Americans--people who live in America--out of 
the shadows under the protection of DACA.
  Initially, we thought new President Trump was going to give these 
young DACA recipients a break. He said a lot of kind things about them, 
even though his rhetoric about immigration has been very harsh. He said 
good things about them because he realized, as all of us do, that many 
of them are victims of unfairness and injustice and they should be 
given a chance to prove themselves and be part of America's future.
  But then, on September 5 of last year, President Trump reversed 
himself. He announced that he was eliminating DACA, eliminating the 
protection these young people have. He challenged Congress and said: 
Come up with a law that protects DACA and Dreamers. I accepted the 
challenge and so did Lindsey Graham, the Republican Senator of South 
Carolina. We put together a team of six Senators--three Democrats and 
three Republicans--and worked for months to come up with an alternative 
that would protect the Dreamers, protect those who are under the DACA 
Program.
  I think it was a good proposal. I think it was balanced. Parts of it 
I didn't like, and parts of it I did. That is the nature of a political 
compromise. It was bipartisan. We took it to President Trump, but he 
rejected it. He just rejected it.
  There we were, emptyhanded, coming to the floor of the Senate a few 
weeks ago for four different votes to try to solve the DACA crisis. 
None of our proposals passed. The one with the most votes was the one 
Senator Graham and I worked on and brought to the floor with Senator 
King and Senator Rounds. It even included the President's wall. Some of 
us think this is a crazy idea, a waste of taxpayers' dollars, but we 
were prepared to say to the President: If you would give 1.8 million of 
these Dreamers a path to citizenship, we will at least start building 
your wall--one that was supposed to be paid for by Mexico. President 
Trump rejected it. He rejected it. March 5 came and went. The deadline 
for DACA ended, and protection under DACA started disappearing.
  There were court suits that were brought. Two Federal courts stepped 
in and issued injunctions. They said to the President: Stop the threat 
of deportation against these DACA-protected young people. Two of those 
injunctions now stand, and under those our Federal Government--the 
Department of Homeland Security--is allowing those who were once 
protected by DACA to renew their status. Of course, those who were 
newly eligible--for instance, reaching the age of 15, which is the age 
of eligibility--can't sign up. But if you were in the 800,000 
protected, you can renew your DACA protection by these court orders.
  So how long are these young people going to be protected? We don't 
know. That court protection could end next week, next month, or 6 
months from now. We just don't know. So they live in absolute 
uncertainty with the danger that at any minute DACA protection ends and 
they can be deported.
  When I have come to the floor to tell their stories, people 
understand that these young people are extraordinary. Think about 
growing up as a teenager and all the uncertainty and challenges and 
things that come to your life. Imagine doing that with the knowledge 
that at any minute you could be deported or some misstep by you might 
deport your entire family. That is what these young people have grown 
up with. Yet they are determined. They are resilient. Some of them are 
nothing short of amazing on what they have done with their lives.
  I have come to the floor to tell their stories so you could attach a 
face to them, to the issue. DACA isn't just another government program. 
It turns out to be something that is significant in their lives.
  Today I wish to tell another one of those stories about another one 
of these Dreamers. This lovely young lady here is Gloria Rinconi. 
Gloria Rinconi is the 113th Dreamer whom I have had the honor to 
introduce to the Senate and to those who follow our proceedings.
  Gloria was brought to the United States at the age of 1 from Mexico. 
She grew up in North Carolina and in Texas. Her family had so little 
money that at one point her parents slept on the floor of a trailer. 
Gloria slept on a makeshift bed made out of a piece of cardboard and a 
blanket.
  Gloria's parents told her she was undocumented, but ``you are loved 
by many regardless of what you might hear on TV.''
  Her family was poor, but Gloria was a hard worker and an 
extraordinarily good student. In high school, she took advanced 
placement courses and was a member of the National Technical Honor 
Society. She received the Tyler Independent School District Student 
Award. She was active in extracurricular activities, worked on the

[[Page S2024]]

school yearbook, was a member of the French club, pom squad, and drill 
prep. She competed in pageants, winning the National American Miss 
State Pageant and the National American Miss National Pageant.
  Gloria graduated from high school with a medical assistant program 
certification. She is attending Richland College and majoring in 
psychology. She also works as a medical assistant for a surgeon. Her 
dream is to become a clinical psychologist and work with low-income 
families facing mental health issues.
  This lovely and amazing young lady sent me a letter. Here is what she 
said:

       DACA is my entire life. It's the only thing I have that 
     allows me to work, give back to my community and continue 
     with my future plans. Without it, my life as I know it will 
     be gone.

  This is what the DACA debate and the Dream Act debate is all about. 
It is all about the aspirations and hopes of amazing, talented, and 
dedicated young people who just want to be part of America's future.
  Would we be better if we ended up deporting this young lady, sending 
her back to Mexico--a place she has probably never even visited in her 
entire life since she came here at the age of 1? I don't think so. I 
think everyone understands that a young person like this deserves a 
chance.
  We now face the possibility that DACA protection through court order 
may protect those who are already protected under DACA from deportation 
but may not protect them for some period of time and allow them to 
work. That is the second part of DACA--that you can legally work in the 
United States.
  A lot of them have graduated from college and do work today. I have 
met doctors, lawyers, engineers, and teachers. There are some 20,000 
teachers across America who are protected by DACA and allowed to work, 
but President Trump has said recently that it is over and, as far as he 
is concerned, they should be deported. I hope his position does not 
prevail. I hope, for Gloria's sake and for the thousands just like her, 
that we will do the right thing, the just and fair thing, and that we 
will do something immediately to provide DACA protection, protection 
for Dreamers, and a path for citizenship.
  How did we get into this crisis? President Trump's decision on 
September 5, 2017, to end DACA created the crisis we face. We need to 
work toward a solution.
  The President has rejected six bipartisan proposals. I don't know 
what it will take to bring him around. I am skeptical now of any 
statement that he makes publicly that he wants to solve this problem. I 
also know that we face, as Gloria faces every day, the uncertainty for 
these young people.

  I urge my colleagues on both sides, don't quit on this issue; don't 
quit on these young people. Every time I go home--every time I go home 
and meet with these Dreamers--it is an emotional meeting. Few of them 
can tell me their life stories without breaking down in tears. Then, 
when they mention their parents--who have been vilified by some--these 
young DACA recipients break down in tears again. They say: Senator, 
wouldn't you have done everything in your power to help your children, 
even if it meant breaking a law?
  Yes, I am sure I would have.
  Should the parents pay a price? Well, under comprehensive immigration 
reform, we had a fine they had to pay, and we delayed any eligibility 
they had to become citizens, but we didn't deport them and break up 
their families. If they had no criminal record and no difficulties or 
problems, we gave them a chance--not amnesty, a price had to be paid 
but a chance to become part of the future of America as well.
  This issue is not over because we have failed in the Senate. The 
issue is still there. The question is whether Senators from both 
political parties can summon the courage to solve this problem.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.