[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 181 (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8816-H8820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         DREAMERS ARE AMERICANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Kirkpatrick). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 3, 2019, the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Espaillat) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority 
leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous materials in the Record on the subject of my Special 
Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa).
  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about an important 
issue affecting our country, and that is Dreamers, many of whom are in 
Washington this week, fighting for their lives in front of the United 
States Supreme Court.
  Dreamers are Americans just like you and me, and they should be 
treated as such. When the Obama administration established the Deferred 
Action for Childhood Arrivals, these were infants from 6 months to 6 
years of age and anywhere in between. These Dreamers came here through 
no choice of their own, but for them, this is the only country they 
have ever known.
  They were qualified and granted, under this program enacted by the 
Obama administration, to be protected from deportation and, thus, 
granted a legal status.
  Since then, these young people have made immense contributions to our 
society every day. They are our friends. They are our neighbors.
  But they have been betrayed by this administration's cruel policies 
toward migrant communities, including the efforts to repeal the 
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, otherwise known as DACA, and to 
dismantle the advance parole initiative, which was a part of this 
effort and allows Dreamers to visit their loved ones in the event that 
there is a wedding, a funeral, and some other critical moments in their 
lives with their families in the country that they originally came 
from.
  These cruel and shameless policies have thrown the lives of these 
people, most of them young, into chaos. They live in fear every day, 
fear to see if they will be removed, deported from the only home that 
they have ever known, from the only country they really have ever 
known.
  Living with this uncertainty is not right. It is unfair, and it is 
unjust. It is not the American way.
  For 243 years, America has been a beacon of shining light for 
immigrants around the world. In this case, we made promises to protect 
Dreamers. If the Supreme Court rescinds these protections, I believe 
Congress must keep fighting. I will keep fighting.
  I know these Dreamers. I have visited with them. They are in my 
schools, in the community colleges, and in the State universities.

                              {time}  1745

  And so I want them to know, I want you to know because these Dreamers 
reflect and represent what? The American Dream.
  What is the American Dream? The American Dream is about immigrants 
past and immigrants present, and it is the embodiment of what Dreamers 
are a part of.
  So I ask my colleagues to join with us this afternoon in standing up 
and speaking out for those Dreamers.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, I yield to my colleague from California 
(Mr. Vargas).
  Mr. VARGAS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for 
yielding.
  I rise today on behalf of hundreds of thousands of Dreamers.
  Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard arguments over the future of 
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or, as you heard, DACA 
recipients. This decision will determine whether nearly 800,000 
Dreamers will lose their legal protections to live and work in the 
United States.
  The average DACA recipient came to the U.S. as a young child and has 
called our country their home for nearly 20 years. Denying their legal 
rights or rescinding the promise made to them 7 years ago would be 
immoral and wrong. They are students, teachers, first responders, 
entrepreneurs, and community organizers who make our country stronger 
and contribute to it every day.
  Approximately 27,000 DACA recipients are currently employed as 
healthcare workers and support staff. Rescinding DACA would be a direct 
threat to the public health, as we heard from our colleague, Dr. Ruiz. 
We rely on these people. So, at this moment, it would be a disaster to 
not give them the legal status they need to remain in our country.
  DACA recipients and their households hold a combined $24.1 billion in 
spending power each year. In addition, DACA recipients boost Social 
Security and Medicare through payroll taxes.
  Many DACA recipients have completed high school, entered 4-year 
colleges and universities, and graduated. College enrollment rates have 
dramatically increased for DACA-eligible individuals, and completion 
rates have skyrocketed.

[[Page H8817]]

  Dreamers are our brothers and our sisters and our neighbors. They 
don't know any other country as home. They were brought here as 
children and, many times, as infants.
  They built their lives here since they were little kids. They grew up 
here in America learning our history and loving and celebrating our 
culture and freedoms, just like any other American.
  They work, they pay taxes, and, like millions before, they dream of 
serving, too. Turning our backs on them is against our American values.
  The choice is clear: We must keep our promise to Dreamers. We must 
protect the dream and uphold DACA in the highest court of the land.
  We heard here very recently from a friend on the other side how we 
should open our hearts this holiday season to children who need 
adoption, and he is correct. At the same time, we should open our 
hearts to these children who came here, oftentimes, when they were 
infants--no fault of their own; their parents brought them here. They 
grew up in our country. In fact, many of them thought they were 
American citizens until they became older.
  Madam Speaker, in the words of our great colleague who recently 
passed, Elijah Cummings: We are better than this. We are better than 
deporting these children who have never known another country other 
than our own. We are better than this, and hopefully the Supreme Court 
is better than this.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, I yield to my colleague from California 
(Mr. Correa).
  Mr. CORREA. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for 
yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I want to correct the record about Dreamers, who they 
are in the United States.
  I represent central Orange County, home to the largest number of 
Dreamers in the United States. I will talk a little bit about a few of 
the Dreamers in my district.
  The first one, Jose Angel Garibay, who lived in my district in Santa 
Ana, enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Jose was deployed to 
Iraq, and in 2003 he was killed at the age of 21. Jose was the first 
servicemember from Orange County to make the ultimate sacrifice.
  Jose Angel Garibay, rest in peace.
  Jose is a Dreamer.
  Madam Speaker, I want to correct the record about the Dreamers, who 
they are.
  Police officer Germain Martinez Garcia grew up in southern Illinois. 
As an intern, his hard work and positive attitude set him apart and 
earned him a slot in the local academy. Germain Martinez Garcia is a 
valued member of his team and his department. In the words of his 
police chief: ``He is part of this community. He's a good citizen. He's 
a good person. We need him.''
  Germain Martinez, a Dreamer.
  Madam Speaker, I want to correct the record about who Dreamers are. 
They are lawyers.
  Cesar Vargas grew up in Staten Island in New York. He has served our 
Nation in the Army. After law school, Cesar passed the New York bar on 
his first try in 2011. Then he applied for admission to the New York 
bar, but due to his immigration status, he was denied. It would take 
him 5 more years before Cesar became the first Dreamer admitted to the 
New York State bar.
  Cesar Vargas, he is a Dreamer.
  Madam Speaker, I want to correct the record about Dreamers. They are 
American soldiers.
  John grew up in southern California. John joined the U.S. Army, and 
on March 18 of last year, he shipped out to basic training. John wants 
nothing more than to defend our country.
  John is a warrior and a patriot. John is a Dreamer. John, U.S. Army.
  Madam Speaker, I want to correct the record about Dreamers and who 
they are: American soldiers.

  James grew up in southern California. James enlisted in the United 
States Army. James' goal is to protect the United States of America 
because he loves this country. James needs DACA reform to ensure that 
he can come home after being deployed to defend our Nation.
  James is a Dreamer. James is part of the U.S. Army.
  Madam Speaker, I want to correct the record about who Dreamers are. 
They are Harvard graduates.
  Gloria Montiel grew up in the heart of my district in Santa Ana. 
Gloria is the first student from Santa Ana High School to be accepted 
to Harvard. Gloria was the first undocumented student to receive a 
master's degree from Harvard. Gloria was the first undocumented Ph.D. 
candidate from Claremont Graduate University.
  Gloria Montiel is a Dreamer.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, as the whip of the Congressional 
Hispanic Caucus, I am pleased to lead this monthly Special Order hour. 
It comes at a critical time in America, a critical time for our Nation 
and for the communities that we represent.
  Yesterday morning, Madam Speaker, you may know that the Supreme Court 
heard a case. They heard arguments on Dreamers. This decision will 
determine the lives of nearly 1 million young Americans in the Supreme 
Court of the United States, a million people who were brought here at a 
very early age, at a very young age, and have known no other country 
but the United States of America.
  We have come to call them Dreamers because they symbolize, in a 
quintessential way, what the American Dream stands for. They derived 
the name from bipartisan legislation introduced in 2001 by none other 
than the former Republican president pro tempore of the Senate, Orrin 
Hatch of the State of Utah and Dick Durbin of the State of Illinois.
  That legislation, which was reintroduced multiple times, would have 
granted residency status to immigrants who came here as minors, 
assuming they had no criminal record and had a high school diploma; and 
they could become permanent residents if they got a college degree or 
served honorably in the U.S. military.
  This proposal was seen as a critical component of any comprehensive 
immigration reform and for many was considered a low-hanging fruit, the 
easiest thing we could all agree on, both sides of the aisle. Opinion 
polling of the American people bore that out. In fact, we have seen 
poll after poll after poll indicate that over 80 percent of the 
American people, whether in red States or blue States, support 
Dreamers.
  In 2013, after the House Republican majority flat-out refused to even 
consider an overwhelmingly bipartisan comprehensive immigration package 
painstakingly negotiated, amended, and, finally, approved by the Senate 
on a healthy bipartisan vote, President Obama looked at what his 
options were, and he saw the very last deal was this low-hanging fruit.
  He used his administrative discretion in enforcing immigration laws, 
a longstanding authority used by Presidents on both sides of the aisle, 
to create the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or the 
DACA program.
  While the program couldn't provide permanent legal certainty, it did, 
essentially, tell those who have been eligible under the DREAM Act 
that, if they came forward and followed various steps to ensure they 
met conditions similar to those in the DREAM Act, they would be granted 
relief from deportation and issued documents allowing them to remain 
and work legally in the United States.
  In essence, the Dreamers came forward and shared their personal 
information--their address, their date of birth--they shared that with 
us, the government. They were forward. They were transparent in their 
approach to share vital, personal, and confidential information with 
the government.
  The DACA program and the DREAM Act were so popular and so important 
because they are an example of who we are and aspire to be as a nation, 
a nation of immigrants, and it honors our core principles such as basic 
fairness, compassion, and common sense.
  What is more, it is in our national interest to keep DACA recipients 
here.
  Between 2017 and 2027, DACA beneficiaries are projected to contribute 
$460 billion to the national GDP. They pay $5.7 billion in Federal 
taxes and $3.1 billion in State and local taxes, annually.
  Researchers estimate ending DACA will cost the United States economy 
anywhere from $283 billion to $460 billion over the next 10 years.
  Our Nation also sees benefits from the fact that many DACA recipients 
are highly educated and skilled workers. Ninety-six percent of DACA 
recipients are enrolled in school, and 75 percent are pursuing a 
bachelor's degree or higher.

[[Page H8818]]

  27,000 DACA recipients are currently employed as healthcare workers 
and support staff. They are an integral part of the healthcare industry 
across America.
  So it stands to reason that rescinding DACA would do nothing but hurt 
the economy, drain our businesses of skilled and educated workers, and 
threaten our public health system.
  The reason the current case is making its way through the courts is 
precisely because the Trump administration has been unable to 
substantiate their reasoning for terminating the program.
  President Trump, himself, has said on numerous occasions that he does 
not want to deport DACA recipients or so he says. In fact, two lower 
Federal courts have placed injunctions in the efforts to eliminate the 
DACA program.
  So there are a few things I believe we must do. Most obviously--
though, admittedly, unlikely--if the administration really does not 
want to send DACA recipients to their place, a place that they have 
never known, it should rescind its order or find other administrative 
means to give them certainty.
  But even more importantly, Madam Speaker, is that we change the law 
to provide permanent certainty for these young Americans.
  And they are truly Americans: They feel American; they have been here 
for many years; and many of them, with the exception of having their 
green card, are very much part of the American fabric.

                              {time}  1800

  I was proud to vote for the Dream and Promise Act not too long ago 
when it passed here in the House. And as the only formerly undocumented 
immigrant in Congress, I was honored, deeply honored to preside over 
its passage. It is now on the Senate to act.
  We heard the arguments yesterday in the Supreme Court. We are hopeful 
that the Court will be reasonable and understand that these young 
people have nothing but to give their sweat and their work, their 
abilities to our Nation.
  Based on the vote just 6 years ago, it is clear that H.R. 6 would 
pass if the majority leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, brought it 
to a vote.
  This legislation, a similar legislation, a lot more complex, more 
comprehensive in scope, was passed not too long ago in the Senate in a 
bipartisan way.
  In the meantime, Democrats in the House, we must continue to consider 
other legislation that will help Dreamers. For example, the Education 
and Labor Committee recently passed a sweeping reform of our higher 
education programs, the College Affordability Act. That bill would make 
college more affordable and accessible to Dreamers by making them 
eligible for financial aid, Pell Grants, and other kinds of financial 
assistance.
  Besides, if we are encouraging Dreamers to complete their education 
in order to grant them legal status, the least we can do is help them 
afford the education.
  There are numerous reasons to keep Dreamers here and give them the 
certainty they need to succeed, the most basic being that we have 
always been, and will continue to be, a Nation of immigrants.
  For the rest of this special hour, you will hear from other 
colleagues in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who will share their 
stories about why this is critically important for the future of 
America. In fact, I am compelled to tell you that this is a fight for 
the soul of America. But here I yield to them.
  Madam Speaker, I want to thank the many groups who continue to serve 
our constituents through their advocacy, their legal assistance, their 
organizational skills, and their moral support, groups like UnidosUS, 
United We Dream, the Hispanic Federation, Make the Road New York, 
faith-based groups, labor unions, and countless others. They are all 
shining examples of what America stands for, and we could not be 
successful in our work inside the Capitol without the work that they do 
outside of the Capitol.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Soto), my 
colleague.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Espaillat), my dear friend, for yielding.
  You know, we had a rally a while ago where I got to hear my dear 
friend from New York talk about, as he was addressing Dreamers, that 
they were the tears of their grandparents, they were the dreams of 
their parents, and how generations led up to the moment where their 
children can experience the American Dream. And it really got to me.
  It was an emotional moment for all of us, thinking about that story 
that all of our families, other than our Native Americans, experienced 
at one time or another, that someone had to make a choice, someone had 
to cross an ocean or a desert, or so many other barriers to get here to 
the United States.
  You know, as we look at what the Supreme Court, yesterday having 
their oral arguments, is set to rule upon, it is pretty clear that 
terminating DACA would not be in the best interests of the Sunshine 
State. It is pretty clear that ending DACA would be bad for Florida, 
President Trump's new home State.
  When you look back, our State passed in a bipartisan fashion in the 
Florida legislature when I was there in-state tuition for Dreamers. We 
also passed a bill that I filed and was able to pass to admit Dreamers 
to the Florida Bar, all defined as DACA recipients.
  So in a State that many people refer to as purple, being Democrats 
and Republicans going back and forth on close issues and in close 
elections, we came together to protect our Dreamers.
  So I hope as the Trump administration is examining their arguments 
and working before the Supreme Court, that they recognize that this 
wouldn't serve in Florida's best interests.
  In Florida, we have over 80,000 Dreamers, 30,000 of whom were DACA 
recipients. I wanted to spend a few minutes tonight talking about their 
stories, about my constituents.
  The first Dreamer I would like to speak about, a DACA recipient, is 
Herman Younger, otherwise known as Herman to us affectionately.
  Herman Younger grew up in the city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Wanting 
to give him and his sister a better life, his family decided to migrate 
to Miami, Florida, in 2002.
  During this time, his parents instilled in him a respect and 
curiosity for the law. This led him to join the Miami-Dade Police 
Explorers while in high school.
  In 2012, Herman applied for DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood 
Arrivals, which allowed him to pursue educational opportunities post 
high school.
  After graduating, he moved to Gainesville, Florida, where he studied 
political science at the University of Florida with a focus on ethics 
and moral law.
  During this time at UF, he joined the College Democrats; prelaw 
fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta; and Assembly for Action, a conference that 
aims to build community relations with local organizations.
  During his junior year, Herman interned for our office in D.C., where 
he helped draft a bill I introduced earlier this year, the Artificial 
Intelligence JOBS Act, otherwise known as AI JOBS Act.
  After his internship, Herman worked not only on our campaigns, but 
oversaw phone bankers and canvassers as our district coordinator.
  Herman has since graduated from the University of Florida, receiving 
his bachelor's degree.
  In May of this year, he spearheaded a group advocating for restaurant 
workers to unionize against unfair treatment and pay, and now currently 
holds a position with the Sierra Club as their organizing 
representative for the Wildlands Red Tide Campaign.

  Herman continues to be an advocate for other Dreamers and hopes to 
fight the structural inequities and racism stemming from colonization.
  Another amazing DACA recipient, an amazing Dreamer from my district 
is Mariana Castro.
  Mariana came to the United States from Peru at the age of ten with 
her mother, leaving her brothers and father behind.
  While her mother worked three jobs to keep food on the table for her 
family, Mariana excelled as a central Florida high school student. In 
tenth grade, she realized that regardless of her excellent grades, 
involvement in hundreds of community service hours, that

[[Page H8819]]

her undocumented status would impact and potentially stop her academic 
career.
  Opportunity shined when DACA became a reality a few months before her 
graduation. She graduated from Celebration High School in 2013, 
received the highest academic scholarship in the State, and chose the 
University of Florida to be her home for the next 4 years.
  At the time, even with DACA, she was denied an in-state tuition rate 
in college and her scholarship was revoked.
  Mariana paused her education and fought for the in-state tuition, 
that I previously mentioned in my speech here tonight, for undocumented 
students in the State of Florida.
  Her efforts came to fruition, as she stood side by side with so many 
other Dreamers when we finally passed the in-state tuition bill for 
Dreamers 1 year later.
  And what happens when we give someone like Mariana an opportunity? 
She returned to the University of Florida, where she graduated with a 
degree in biological sciences this past May.
  As a DACA recipient, Mariana was unable to receive any state 
scholarships, Federal aid, or loans.
  While being a full-time student, she worked 40 hours every week at 
restaurants to pay for her education out of pocket.
  During her college career, she interned at my congressional office in 
2018 and was later hired as a legislative aid in the Florida Senate.
  She also helped start university programs that provide visibility to 
undocumented students, most recently institutionalizing a training for 
professional staff about relevant immigration laws that affect the 
student body, while raising funds for the Out of the Shadows 
scholarship, a scholarship specifically for undocumented students in 
Florida that she oversaw for 3 years.
  Over the years, she received several awards for her advocacy in the 
immigrant community, including being named the only female Outstanding 
Student Leader in her graduating class.
  Today, Mariana Castro serves as the central Florida business manager 
for Impact Fund, working to change public policy around immigration 
through coalition building and bipartisan action.
  Mariana plans to obtain a combined JD and PP degree and continue to 
use legislation and grassroots organizing in order to fight for 
disenfranchised communities in the Nation.
  Also, as the Civil Rights Action Task Force chair for the 
Congressional Hispanic Caucus, I wanted to talk a little bit about the 
issues before the Supreme Court.
  We know, with the DACA program, that the Federal Government created a 
promise, a promise to these eventual DACA recipients that their 
deportation would be deferred, and it was for an obvious reason: there 
are over 10 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, and 
these were the lowest priority for deportation because they were young 
people who came here through no fault of their own, that knew no other 
country other than this one. And I can tell you, as we heard from 
Mariana's story and from Herman's story, that they are indeed 
ambitious, and they are indeed contributing to our society.
  So a promise was made to these young people, and they relied on that 
promise, to their detriment, by giving their information to the Federal 
Government every 2 years periodically. And then from there, the Federal 
Government should be estopped from being able to use that to deport 
them, to single them out in any way.
  If the program is going to be wound down, it should be wound down in 
an ordinary and orderly fashion. And I think those who are in the 
program should at least be able to stay in the program, or if not, not 
be targeted by the Federal Government. So I think it is right that the 
Federal Government should be estopped from using this information to 
the detriment of these young people.
  Then we look at the reasoning, and it is hard to see under either a 
rational review or a higher scrutiny that the court may apply, that 
there is enough information to strike down this executive order. It was 
done through the ordinary process.
  And now the reason they originally proffered was simply that it was 
unconstitutional. You know, that is the purview of the Supreme Court. 
That is not a reason for an administration to be able to strike down a 
program. They actually have to give a reason beyond their own opinion 
that something is unconstitutional. Of course, the Trump administration 
didn't do that in all their procedures to try to end the law.
  Then eventually in the appellate courts, they tried to come up with 
some statistics, come up with some justifications after they had 
already gone through the process, and now they want to put the genie 
back in the bottle. Now they want to say, ``Well, our rationale was 
given in the appellate court, so we should be able to just use that 
from the beginning,'' and that is not the way the process works.
  Even then, it was the same xenophobic misrepresentations that we hear 
about these young people being spouted to this day.

                              {time}  1815

  Whether it is under estoppel or whether it is simply under the 
court's scrutiny, I think it is pretty clear. We hope the Supreme Court 
will decline to end the program or, at the very least, have an orderly 
termination of it, protecting these kids and stopping the Federal 
Government from hurting them any further.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Barragan), the second vice chair of the Congressional 
Hispanic Caucus.
  Ms. BARRAGAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for having this 
special hour and for all of his work.
  As the Supreme Court deliberates this administration's attempt to end 
the DACA program, it is easy for the average American to see the term 
``DACA'' as a case, a policy, a set of immigration statistics, or a 
political bargaining chip. But DACA is 700,000 living, breathing people 
who consider America to be their home, the only home most of them have 
ever had.
  Over 8,000 of these DACA members live in my district, and I consider 
them amongst my most valued and vulnerable constituents. They are our 
brothers and sisters, our friends and schoolmates, our neighbors and 
workmates, and, in my instance, my cousin. And in my case, they are 
also dedicated and talented interns working in both my district office 
and right here in my Washington office.
  Irene Garcia-Brizuela is a DACA recipient who has lived in the United 
States since she was 10 years old. She is earning her bachelor's degree 
at Cal State Dominguez Hills. She is a part-time barista, as she is 
working hard in my San Pedro office.
  Even as a young girl, Irene dreamed of working in our government. 
Very sadly, she worries that interning for me might be as close as she 
will ever come because she can't work for the government she respects, 
reveres, and pledges allegiance to without proof of legal residency.
  Juan Hinojos is an outstanding member of my D.C. office as an intern. 
He has lived in this country since he was 2 years old. Of course, it is 
the only home he has ever known. When Juan graduates Arizona State, he 
will be the first in his family to do so.
  Juan just spent two nights camping out to be in line to get inside 
the Supreme Court so that he could witness yesterday's oral arguments, 
not only as an observer wanting to witness history, not only as an 
appreciator of our government in action, but as a participant whose 
fate may rest in the hands of that moment.
  These are just two examples of the wonderful and meaningful 
contributions that all DACA recipients make to our communities, our 
economy, our society, and our American culture.
  Our Nation made a promise to them that if they work hard, study hard, 
play by the rules, and follow the law, they can become American 
citizens and travel as far as their talents take them. It is quite 
literally the promise of America.
  Madam Speaker, I want to say to DACA recipients nervously awaiting 
their fates: You are valued. You are appreciated. You are loved. You 
belong here.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues for joining me 
here today. I would like to reiterate the important message that we are 
here to support Dreamers.

[[Page H8820]]

  This is not impossible, Madam Speaker. In 2002, while I was a Member 
of the New York State Assembly, the lower house of the New York State 
Legislature, we passed instate tuition allowing undocumented college 
students the ability to pay instate tuition. We did that with a 
Republican Governor and with a Republican-led Senate. Just last year, 
New York State again passed the Jose Peralta Dream Act.
  So it could be done, Madam Speaker.
  Just recently, I was speaking to a group of Dreamers and advocates in 
Battery Park, New York, having the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop to 
our rally. I told them to be cognizant of what they are doing because, 
very often, those who write history, those who write the chapters and 
the annals of history, are not aware that they are doing it.
  I asked them to pay close attention to what they were doing because 
they are, in fact, the protagonists. They are the leaders of this 
movement. When you see their faces, and you see what they want to do 
for our country, it is almost impossible to say no to them. I told them 
to be very cognizant of their effort because, in fact, they are an army 
of goodwill.
  They may not have weapons in their hands, and they may not wear 
military gear, but they are an army of goodwill that I think is 
fighting every day for the soul of America. And 20 or 30 years from 
now, they will be able to tell their children and grandchildren that 
they were successful, that they were critical. They were the 
protagonists, the leaders of a movement led by an army of goodwill that 
saved America and what it stands for.
  Madam Speaker, we will continue to call on our colleagues in the 
Senate to take up and pass the American Dream and Promise Act so that 
the lives of over 800,000 Dreamers no longer hang in the balance.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________