[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19510-19511]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  DACA

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, this fall, I met with Dreamers in my home 
State of Oregon. At meetings in Eugene and in Portland, these young 
people gave powerful accounts of how the Trump administration has 
needlessly and cruelly injected fear into their lives and the lives of 
their families.
  Right now, these Dreamers--these young people who have done nothing 
wrong, who have terrific grades, wonderful conduct, who are helping 
their families--are faced with the very real threat that they may be 
ripped away from the only lives and the only country they have ever 
known. These young people might be little more than numbers on a page 
to those who spend their days waging political fights in the Nation's 
Capital, but this is not just some academic topic for the thousands of 
young people across the land who would be affected by these vicious 
policies. This is a real-life issue with real-life consequences and 
real-life dangers for many of our friends and neighbors.
  It is real for those like Cynthia Aguilar, whom I met this fall at 
the University of Oregon in Eugene. She spoke eloquently about how her 
mother sacrificed so much for her, living paycheck to paycheck so 
Cynthia could have an education and a better life.
  It is real for those like Eastern Oregon University student Daysi 
Bedolla, who spoke just as movingly when we met in Portland, as well as 
in La Grande at a townhall I held in her community. Not only does Daysi 
talk about the huge contributions that Dreamers are making in their 
hometowns and college campuses, she demonstrates her contributions each 
day at Eastern Oregon University as the school's student body 
president.
  Cynthia, Daysi, and so many others are what I call the real dream 
team, and I am proud to be their teammate in this fundamental fight for 
fairness. It is not a small fight. In Oregon alone, there are an 
estimated 11,000 Dreamers--enough to fill almost every seat in the 
Memorial Coliseum--and every one of those young people has parents and 
brothers and sisters and friends in their communities. They have well-
laid plans to work hard in school, make something of their lives, and 
start families of their own in the United States. The strength of their 
stories fuels our fight, and that is why I join colleagues today in 
insisting that the Dream Act come to the floor of this Senate. This has 
been a long battle.
  I am proud to have been with the Dreamers every step of the way from 
the Dream Act legislation to President Obama's actions on DACA. I am 
also pleased to have worked with my colleagues to introduce legislation 
like the Protect Dreamer Confidentiality Act. This bill would ensure 
that the information Dreamers provided to the government isn't somehow 
used against them for immigration enforcement.
  Congress has to come together and work in a bipartisan way on a fair 
path forward for Dreamers. This effort from the White House to punish 
innocent young people and split families goes against the values we 
cherish as Americans and further divides our country. These children 
have known nothing but the United States as their home. They have done 
nothing wrong and everything right. They deserve an opportunity to stay 
here. Our government

[[Page 19511]]

made a promise to Dreamers when we encouraged them to share their 
stories publicly, submit to background checks, and pay taxes. It would 
be wrong to go back on that promise now.
  I am pleased to be on this floor to say that we are just going to 
battle every step along the way until there is justice done for the 
Dreamers.

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