[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 373-374]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             THE DREAM ACT

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, each of us takes on an agenda in Congress, 
things that are important to us personally, and sometimes one or two of 
those issues become very personal and very important to us. The one 
that has become very personal to me relates to the DREAM Act.
  The DREAM Act is a bill I introduced 10 years ago--10 years ago. To 
serve in the Senate, one has to be a patient person because nothing 
happens quickly. But 10 years is long enough, and I am urging my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take a close look at this 
legislation today.
  First, let me explain what it is all about. It is a bill that would 
allow students to literally earn their legal status in America. These 
are students who came to the United States as children. They have been 
here for a long period of time. They have good moral character. They 
must graduate from high school, speak English and complete at least 2 
years of service to our country in the military or at least 2 years of 
college, and that can include vocational training, which I think can be 
equally valuable to many young people. And I have talked to the 
Presiding Officer about this. I certainly believe that should be part 
of this conversation.
  The DREAM Act would make us a better and stronger country. These 
young people are waiting for the opportunity to contribute to America. 
I have come to the floor dozens of times now to tell their stories. 
There was a time when they were afraid to speak out and to identify 
themselves. But thank God that has changed. They now speak out because 
they understand when people see who they are, what they have done, and 
what their dreams are, they can appreciate the fact these are good 
young people who, when given a chance, will make us a safer and 
stronger nation.
  That is why this proposal has been supported by the Department of 
Defense. They want these young people--these high school graduates of 
good character--to come into our military and make it better. Of 
course, many others see this as a valuable addition to our economy--
tomorrow's engineers and scientists and teachers and doctors and 
lawyers and entrepreneurs. These young people can make America a better 
place.
  I contacted the Obama administration last year, along with 21 of my 
colleagues, and asked that they take a look at these young people when 
it comes to deportation. Understand we estimate there are 11 million 
undocumented people in America. There are some who just say: Oh, send 
them all back.
  That is not even in the realm of reality. So I have asked the Obama 
administration, along with 20 of my colleagues, to focus on those who 
are any danger to the United States and send them back--deport them. In 
fact, the Obama administration has done just that. I have asked them as 
well, since we have limited resources, to please try to identify those 
who might fall into the qualification of the DREAM Act and do not 
deport them.
  There are some who argue: Oh, wait a minute. They should all go. But 
we know we have limited resources for enforcement. If a person is a 
State trooper, parked on the side of a highway in Illinois or West 
Virginia, with a speed limit of 55 miles an hour, and one car comes by 
at 65 miles an hour and the next one comes hurtling by at 110 miles an 
hour and they can go after only one car, which one will they go after? 
We know the answer. They go after the car that is traveling so fast it 
is a danger to its occupants and everyone else. The same is true when 
it comes to questions of deportation. Use good sound prosecutorial 
judgment, with limited resources, to deport only those people who could 
be a threat or a danger to these United States. That is the first 
priority.
  Earlier today, Senator Grassley, who is the ranking member of the 
Senate Judiciary Committee, came to the Senate floor and claimed that 
the Obama administration is using this discretionary authority to 
implement the DREAM Act because it failed to pass Congress. I 
respectfully disagree with my friend from Iowa.
  The DREAM Act would give these young people the chance to earn legal 
status. That is not the case when it comes to deportation. Even if they 
are not deported, they are still not in a legal or permanent legal 
situation in the United States. Their future is still in doubt and in 
question. So there is no parallel as far as that is concerned.
  I have come to the floor many times to introduce those who follow 
this debate to these young people to get to know who they are and why I 
think this cause is important and their lives are important to us. Let 
me introduce today two of them.
  This is Alaa Mukahhal. Alaa is of Palestinian descent, was brought to 
the United States by her parents 19 years ago when she was 7 years old. 
She is 26, and she grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, my home State. 
She was an honor student in high school and graduated from the 
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign--a great university--with a 
bachelor's degree in architecture. She sent me a letter, and here is 
what she said:

       Being undocumented and with no pathway to the citizenship 
     means I actually can't use my architectural degree. It means 
     I can't get a job and move forward with my life. This year, 
     once again, we wait for Congress to do the right thing and 
     give undocumented young people all across America a chance to 
     better serve our communities and our country. I am an asset 
     to this country, a resource, with a desire to make good use 
     of my degree. I want to be able to work and design affordable 
     housing for low-income communities.

  In the finest American tradition, Alaa has become an activist. She 
has stepped out to introduce herself to America so we know who these 
DREAM Act students are and what

[[Page 374]]

they could mean to the future of our Nation.
  Let me also introduce to you this lovely young lady, Maria Luna. 
Maria has a heartbreaking but inspiring story.
  Her mother lives in the United States. But just before she was to be 
born in the United States, her mother fled the country and gave birth 
to her on the Mexican side of the border. Maria's mother abandoned her 
in Mexico at that point--left her when she was only 3 days old. 
Luckily, her grandmother stepped in and started raising Maria in Los 
Angeles, CA. Her grandmother passed away when Maria was 10 years old.
  After her grandmother's death, Maria went to live with her biological 
mother who, unfortunately, was abusive both physically and emotionally 
to this young woman. While she was in high school, Maria learned that 
she did not have legal status because she was actually born across the 
border in Mexico. She asked her mother to file the papers for her so 
that she could be legal in America. Her mother refused, and she 
threatened to turn her into the authorities if she caused any trouble 
at home.
  Maria persevered. She became a straight-A student. She graduated from 
high school with a 4.2 GPA. This is what she said:

       Even through everything that I was facing at home, I was 
     able to find relief at school. At school, I felt worthy. My 
     dignity was returned. I was valued based on my merit and 
     drive.

  In 2010, Maria graduated from California State University of 
Sacramento. She also decided to start to tell her story publicly about 
why she believes the DREAM Act is so important.
  Maria wants to go to business school and become an entrepreneur. She 
has begun a career in modeling--as you can tell, a lovely young lady--
although she doesn't have legal status and can't be paid for her work. 
She sent me a letter, and here is what she said:

       Through my involvement through the DREAM Act I have learned 
     of many students who like me have excelled despite tough 
     odds. One thing that we all share in common is our hunger to 
     succeed and give back to this country. My dreams and 
     ambitions are all for America. This is where I belong. I know 
     no other home. It is here that I was given an opportunity, it 
     is here that I have become educated. America adopted me and 
     raised me as her own. And because of that, I am forever 
     indebted to her. All I want is to have the ability to give 
     back to my country.

  Mr. President, you and I know this is a nation of immigrants. We are 
fortunate that at some point in the past our parents and grandparents 
had the courage and determination to come to these shores and fight the 
odds. They came here speaking broken, if any, English. They persevered 
through the rejection of people who wanted nothing to do with 
immigrants. They took the dirtiest, hardest jobs available because that 
was it, and they prayed that their kids would have a better life. That 
was the immigrant's dream, and it always has been. That is the dream of 
these children: that they can have a better life, that they can make 
this a better country. All they are asking for is a chance to earn the 
right to be legal, to earn it--not to be given it but to earn it.
  I am going to continue to work for passage of the DREAM Act. I hope 
my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will look at this in an honest 
and fair way. I know immigration has been a hot button issue since 
right after the Pilgrims got off the Mayflower. The next boat that 
arrived, I am sure some of the Pilgrims said: Oh, not more of those 
people.
  Well, that is the story of America. Thank goodness a lot of those 
immigrants from Italy, from Lithuania, from Poland, from China, from 
Mexico, decided to stick it out and fight for their future. These young 
people deserve that same opportunity.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.

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