[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 181 (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H8815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        STANDING UP FOR DREAMERS

  (Mr. RUIZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RUIZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the thousands of 
Dreamers in my district and the 800,000 Dreamers across the country 
threatened with deportation due to the administration's decision to 
rescind DACA.
  It is unconscionable that our Dreamers are now at risk of being 
separated from their families and removed from the only country they 
know as home.
  In addition to the sound economic, educational, and moral arguments 
we are hearing today, there is another argument for DACA, one that, as 
a doctor, I know needs our attention. That is the public health 
argument.
  Doing away with DACA would mean the U.S. could lose over 27,000 
healthcare workers and support staff around the country. At a time when 
we can least afford it, we would lose nurses, physicians, EMTs, and 
hospital workers, people who have spent their careers making our Nation 
healthier and whose absence would bring our public health great harm.
  That is why I cosponsored, and the House passed, H.R. 6, the American 
Dream and Promise Act, so that 800,000 Dreamers who work, are in 
school, have joined the military, or are working to improve our public 
health on a daily basis can live without fear of deportation.
  I urge Senate Majority Leader McConnell to stop playing games and 
have a vote. Let's get H.R. 6 passed.

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