[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 177 (Wednesday, November 6, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6419-S6420]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Immigration

  Mr. President, it was 19 years ago I introduced a bill called the 
DREAM Act. And the DREAM Act said if you came to the United States 
under the age of 18, if you grew up in this country, went to school, no 
problems with the law, you ought to be given a chance at some point 
later in life to earn your way to legal status and citizenship.
  That was the bill. It was introduced, as I mentioned, about 19 years 
ago. It has never become the law of the land, but at one point, I went 
to one of my Senate cosponsors that happened to be running for 
President, named Barack Obama, and said to him: Can you do anything as 
President to help in this situation? So many of these young people who 
are undocumented, they are living in the only country they have known, 
and they have no future because of their immigration status.
  He created the DACA program, and under the DACA program, if you 
qualified as I just described, you would come forward and pay $500 or 
$600 for a filing fee, go through a criminal background check, and if 
you were approved, you would be allowed to stay in the United States 
for 2 years at a time under this DACA protection, renewable every 2 
years. And you would be able to stay without fear of deportation and be 
allowed to legally work in this country.
  President Obama agreed to do it, and when he did, 800,000 young 
people came forward and received DACA protection. For the longest time, 
President Trump would give speeches talking about these wonderful young 
people who deserved to have a chance to have a future in the United 
States. Then in September of 2017, he changed his mind. When he changed 
his mind, unfortunately, he eliminated the DACA program.
  Now, it is being contested in court, and next week, 6 days from now, 
across the street, in the Supreme Court, they are going to argue 
whether the President had the power to end this program. As you might 
imagine, there are almost 800,000 young people who are listening 
carefully to those arguments and waiting for the decision of the 
Supreme Court. They currently have temporary protection because of the 
pending lawsuit. But if they lose in the Supreme Court, they will be 
subject to deportation. That would be a sad outcome, and in many cases, 
it would be a tragic outcome.
  I am hoping that my colleagues in the Senate will follow this 
carefully. This is one thing we ought to agree on. Senator Lindsey 
Graham, conservative Republican from South Carolina, is my cosponsor of 
the DREAM Act, and he has joined with me in saying that we ought to 
make legal status available to these young people through the DREAM 
Act. I hope that ends up being the case.
  I would like to close by telling a story on the floor here about this 
young man. His name is Ernestor De La Rosa. This is the 118th story I 
have told on the floor of the Senate about Dreamers, people protected 
by DACA. He is, as I said, the 118th example I can give to my 
colleagues in the Senate and those following this debate as to why we 
need to have DACA or the DREAM Act as the law of the land.
  Let me tell the story. Ernestor was brought to the United States from 
Mexico when he was a child. He grew up in the Midwest in Dodge City, 
KS, and came to the United States legally. He applied for a green card 
while he was still in legal status. He wanted to become a lawful 
permanent resident, but the line for green cards was too long. You 
might remember an earlier statement I made in debate today. The line 
was so long that Ernestor's visa expired before he received his green 
card. Under the laws of America, he was undocumented.
  It is not well-known that millions of undocumented immigrants came to 
the United States legally in the first place, but they are unable to 
become permanent legal residents because our immigration system is 
broken.
  Here is what Ernestor says about it: ``We all hear comments about 
`Get back in line and do it legally.' Well, we tried. But the system 
right now is so complex that it takes up to 20 years to attain legal 
status.''
  When he first arrived, Ernestor, from Mexico, did not speak or read 
English, but he worked hard and became an honor student in his school. 
He earned an associate's degree from Dodge City Community College and a 
bachelor's degree from Fort Hays State University and a master's in 
public administration from Wichita State University.

  Because of his immigration status, Ernestor was not eligible for any 
Federal financial aid as a student. How did he get through school? He 
worked two jobs. Here is what he says about that experience: ``Often 
kids my age enjoy the college lifestyle, hanging out with friends and 
partying. But I wasn't able to do that. I was so disciplined, I said to 
myself I cannot fail a class, because I am going to have to pay out of 
my pocket take it again.''
  What is Ernestor doing today? He is the assistant city manager of 
Dodge City, KS. He manages a budget of more than $55 million and 
directly oversees 20 employees. He is responsible for his city's 
legislative affairs, working with Federal, State, and local 
representatives on issues such as housing, transportation, and energy.
  Here is what he says about his job: ``I love this profession because 
I am able to make a difference in my community and advocate to meet the 
needs of our residents. It is rewarding and fulfilling to serve this 
great city.''
  Imagine that. Ernestor came to Dodge City unable to speak or read 
English. Now, he is the assistant city manager. This is his story, but 
it is also America's story. Without DACA, which protected him, gave him 
a right to this job, none of this would have been possible.
  Ernestor's dream is to become an American citizen and to advance from 
assistant city manager to city manager, so he can continue to make a 
difference in people's lives, but that can only happen if we do 
something here on the floor of the United States Senate.
  The U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure called the 
American Dream and Promise Act that would provide for Dreamers, as 
mentioned earlier, and would provide for this young man. Senator 
McConnell refuses to allow us to debate this bill on the floor of the 
United States Senate. It is unfortunate.
  Next week, guys like Ernestor and hundreds of thousands of Dreamers 
are

[[Page S6420]]

going to be focused right across the street on the Supreme Court. They 
are counting on the Supreme Court to do the right thing and reject 
President Trump's repeal of DACA.
  They are counting on us who serve in the Senate to solve this crisis 
that the President has created and give this young man and thousands 
like him a chance. It would be an American tragedy to deport this young 
man after all he has achieved and send him back to Mexico, where he 
hasn't lived since he was a little boy.
  Will the majority leader give him a chance? I hope so. The Senate 
should give the American Dream and Promise Act a vote.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.