[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 1388-1389]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO ESTHER OLAVARRIA

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am proud to recognize Ms. Esther 
Olavarria, an extraordinary public servant who has worked for decades 
to build an immigration system that is fair and just for all. I know 
Esther from her time in the Senate as Senator Kennedy's lead advisor on 
immigration matters for the Judiciary Committee. In the Senate and more 
recently in the administration, Esther's intelligent, thoughtful advice 
and analysis has been invaluable. She is stepping down this week after 
serving as senior counselor to Department of Homeland Security 
Secretary Johnson. I have no doubt the Secretary will miss her, as I do 
here in the Senate.
  Esther was an early appointee of the Obama administration, serving 
first as a member of the President's transition team on immigration, 
then as the Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Immigration and 
Border Security and later as counselor to Secretary Janet Napolitano. 
During that time she advocated fixing our Nation's broken immigration 
system and the pressing need to provide protection for asylees and 
refugees, improve detention conditions, and ensure accountability and 
transparency in immigration enforcement.
  In 2013, Esther was asked to serve as the White House Director of 
Immigration Reform. Her wealth of experience made her an invaluable 
asset in our bipartisan effort to pass the Border Security, Economic 
Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act in 2013. The bill 
overwhelmingly passed the Senate with the bipartisan support of 68 
Senators. I remain disappointed that that important bill was not taken 
up in the House, and I hope the Senate will one day turn again to this 
legislation. When we do, I know that Esther will be ready to provide 
her support once again as she has so many times when the Senate has 
turned its focus to the issue of immigration.
  In the Senate, Esther understood the importance of working across the 
aisle to get something done. Like her boss, Senator Kennedy, Esther 
forged unlikely partnerships and found partners who were drawn to her 
passion, her sense of humanity, and her dedication. She was a key 
adviser for the comprehensive immigration reform bills of 2004, 2005, 
2006, and 2007. Many of us remember Senator Kennedy turning to Esther 
during the 2007 negotiations not only so that he could seek her 
counsel, but so that other Senators could benefit from her expertise. 
Everyone--Republicans, Democrats, advocates, journalists--listened, and 
everyone was better off for having Esther nearby.
  Esther, like her late boss, has always been driven by a deep 
commitment to making our communities stronger and more vibrant. She has 
advocated on behalf of immigrant children and she has fought to reform 
inhumane detention practices. And she has underscored the critical 
importance of the relationship between law enforcement and the 
immigrant community so that all our communities are safe.
  A Cuban immigrant who came to the United States at the age of 5, 
Esther has always sought to advance immigration policies rooted in the 
American values of fairness and family. Her life experiences as a child 
led her to a career in immigration law, first helping low-income 
immigrants in Florida through direct client representation and by 
cofounding the not-for-profit legal assistance organization Florida 
Immigrant Advocacy Center, and then coming to Washington, DC.

[[Page 1389]]

  I have no doubt that Esther will continue to be an important adviser, 
but more importantly a devoted friend to so many who have been 
fortunate to know her. She is an exemplary public servant. I commend 
Esther for her years of service and wish her and her family the best in 
their future endeavors.

                          ____________________