[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15119]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 AMERICA'S IMMIGRATION SYSTEM IS BROKEN

  (Mr. COSTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I have been saying for years that the 
American immigration system is broken, and it is about time we fix it. 
We must pass comprehensive immigration reform. This will obviously 
require bipartisanship and a deliberative policy process to make it 
happen.
  In the meantime, we ought to do what we can where we can agree to do 
it, and that is why I am working towards this effort to protect our 
DREAMers now. This is why I signed the discharge petition to bring to 
the House floor a bipartisan, bicameral Dream Act which will 
permanently protect these people who were brought here as children, who 
are in school, who are serving in our military, who are working and 
contributing to our economy, that will permanently protect DREAMers and 
offer them a path to earned citizenship.
  At Fresno State University, we have 1,200 DREAMers who are enrolled; 
at UC Merced, we have 600 DREAMers who are enrolled. We have thousands 
of young people in the San Joaquin Valley who are impacted, and that is 
why we must change this law and that is why I am here today, calling on 
the House leadership to bring the Dream Act to the floor. It is the 
right thing to do. It is the American way in which we solve problems.
  I will continue to do everything in my power to bring the Dream Act 
to the House floor to vote and to work for a comprehensive and a longer 
term immigration policy so that we don't have to continue to have the 
political posturing and the fight that has endured way too long. Let's 
fix this for the DREAMers now.

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