[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 20324-20325]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  DACA

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak to an issue that I 
have spoken to many times on the floor of the Senate. It is the issue 
of the DREAM Act, a measure which I introduced in the Senate 16 years 
ago.
  Sixteen years ago I tried to find a way to give young people brought 
into the United States, who grew up here in this country but did not 
have legal status, a chance--just a chance--to earn their way to legal 
status, to earn their way to citizenship. We set a number of hurdles in 
their path. We made it clear that they had to complete their education. 
We made it clear that they had to pass a serious criminal background 
check. We gave a timetable when they would be able to reach legal 
status and not fear deportation.
  That was 16 years ago, and it still is not the law of the land. 
Unfortunately, there are hundreds of thousands of young people who fit 
the description that I have just given.
  When President Obama was in the White House, I wrote him a letter and 
said: Mr. President, can you do something to help them? And he did. He 
created something called DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood 
Arrivals. It was an Executive order that said to these young people: If 
you fit that definition of the DREAM Act and if you will come forward 
and pay a filing fee of $500 or more, if you will submit yourself to a 
criminal background check and give us all of your background 
information about you and your family, then, we will give you 
temporary, renewable status to stay in America, not be deported, and be 
allowed to work.
  It was a big leap for many of these young people to do it because 
they had grown up in families where, in whispered conversations in the 
evening, their parents told them: Be careful. If you get arrested and 
they come to see this family, many of us will be forced to leave this 
country. Be careful.
  These young people decided to trust the President of the United 
States, to trust the Government of the United States, and to run the 
risk of disclosing everything--giving the most sensitive, personal 
information about themselves and about their families. They trusted us, 
and they trusted this country to treat them fairly and justly.
  So 780,000 have come forward. They submitted their filing fees. They 
paid for the expenses of the government. They did it knowing that even 
with this new status--this DACA status under President Obama's 
Executive order--they didn't qualify for one penny of Federal 
Government benefits, and by working, they would be forced to pay taxes, 
which they were glad to do. Again, 780,000 came forward.
  Then came the last election--the election of a President of the 
United States who had made immigration the centerpiece of his election 
message and who had really sewn doubt, and even fear, about allowing 
immigrants into our Nation of immigrants. It is not a new message in 
America. It is hardly a new message around the world. Being suspicious 
and fearful, even hateful, of immigrants has been a part of human 
experience from the beginning of time.
  So what would happen to these DACA-protected 780,000 young people? 
President Trump announced, through his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, 
on September 5 of this year, that DACA protection was ending. As of 
March 5 of next year, 2018, no one could sign up for DACA protection, 
and as the protection expired for each of them, there was no renewal 
for 780,000 young people.
  The President then challenged Congress and said: Do something. If I 
believe, he said, that DACA is wrong, pass a law; take care of the 
problem. He said that on September 5. Here we are in December, just 
days away from the end of the year, and we have done nothing--nothing. 
And what has happened?
  Across America, these young people, their families, and the people 
who believe in them have begged us to step up and do something. They 
have said: In the name of justice, in the name of fairness, in the name 
of morality, do something. And we have done nothing--nothing.
  Many of them have decided in desperation to bring their message here 
to the Capitol. Right now, as I stand and speak on the floor of the 
Senate, there are thousands outside on the Mall, roaming through the 
corridors, trying to stop people who they believe might be Congressmen 
or Senators, to beg for the passage of the Dream Act, to beg for the 
reinstatement of the DACA protection. Some of them have made great 
sacrifices. I have gone out to talk to a lot of them. They have never 
been to Washington before. They have never been inside this Capitol 
Building. They don't know what it means to lobby. They can't afford a 
lawyer or a lobbyist. They are coming here to beg for their lives and 
to beg for their families. Some people are shunning them, refusing to 
talk to them. Others are gracious and warm and welcoming. They get on 
people's nerves because there are a lot of them and they want to talk 
to people about solving the problem. Some of them have sat in our 
offices--even my office--and I understand it. As awkward as it may be, 
as uncomfortable as it may be, I welcome them. I want them to know what 
America is about--a place where people in this country have the right 
to speak, to assemble, to petition their government. They believe this 
is their government. They look at that flag and they say: That is my 
flag too.
  Legally, they are wrong. They are undocumented. Many have no country 
at all to which they can turn.
  Who are they? Who are these 780,000 young people? I can tell you who 
900 of them are. Nine hundred of these undocumented young people stood 
up and took an oath to a country that will not legally recognize them 
to serve in our military and risk their lives for each and every one of 
us. What greater proof can we ask about their commitment to this 
country? Nine hundred of them did this. If we fail to provide DACA or 
Dream Act protection to them, these 900 will be forced to leave the 
military of the United States of America. They will be turned away, 
despite the fact that they have volunteered their lives for this 
country.
  Twenty thousand of them teach in our classrooms around America. I 
have met many of them. They are teaching in inner city schools through 
a program called Teach For America, which sends them to some of the 
poorest school districts in America. They are spending their lives, as 
undocumented in America, trying to help the least of those of the 
population, those in desperate need of their assistance.
  Among them are thousands who are going to school now and college. Let 
me tell you that their challenge in college is a heck of a lot harder 
than the challenge for most young people. They don't qualify for any 
Federal assistance to go to college--no Pell grants, no Federal loans. 
They have to go to work. They have to work and earn the money to pay 
for tuition. That is what their lives are all about.

[[Page 20325]]

  So for those who would dismiss these as lazy people who really can't 
offer much to the future of America, take a minute to get to know them.
  Yesterday, one of my Republican colleagues looked me in the eye and 
said: We are talking about amnesty; these are people who violated the 
law. You are talking about forgiving them for violating the law.
  Some of them, by his definition, violated the law when they were 
carried in their mothers' arms to the United States at the age of 2. 
Does that sound right? Does that sound just? Does it sound fair to say 
that these are people who have broken the law in America? I don't think 
so.
  Let me say a word about their parents. There are some people who say: 
OK, I don't hate the Dreamers, but I get to hate their parents, right? 
They did break the law.
  Technically, they probably did. I will not argue the point, but I 
will tell you something. As a father, I would risk breaking the law for 
the life, future, and safety of my children. I would, and most people 
would, and they did. It wasn't for any selfish motive. It was so that 
their kids had a chance. That is what it was all about, and that is why 
they came to this country. They knew that at any minute it could fall 
apart and they would be asked to leave, or worse. They risked it for 
their children. So I am not going to stand in moral judgment of these 
parents of Dreamers. As to legal judgment, the case is clear. But as to 
a moral judgment, no, I just will not do it.
  What I have done 101 or 102 times is to come to this floor and just 
tell a story--a story about a Dreamer--so that people know who they 
are. Today I would like to tell you the story of this young lady whose 
name is Karen Reyes. Karen Reyes is the 104th Dreamer whom I have 
introduced on the floor of the Senate, brought to the United States 
from Mexico. She grew up in San Antonio. She had a childhood like other 
American kids--Girl Scouts, summer camps, church groups, volleyball. 
Karen didn't even know she was undocumented until she was in junior 
high school.
  She was a good student. She graduated with honors from high school. 
She was a member of the marching band. Here is what she said about 
growing up in America:

       I might be an undocumented American, but I am an American. 
     I came to this country when I was 2 years old. The only 
     recollection that I have of Mexico is when I visited as a 
     young child. I have not gone back in 20 years. I grew up 
     here. I formed a life here. I made friends here. I received 
     my education here.

  After high school, Karen went to San Antonio College and then 
transferred to the University of Texas San Antonio. She made the 
President's Honors List and the Dean's List.
  She found time to volunteer at the University Health System and at 
the San Antonio Youth Literacy project. She tutored second grade 
students in reading, and she worked with communities and schools where 
she mentored and tutored elementary students.
  In 2012, Karen graduated with a bachelor of arts in interdisciplinary 
studies. She went on to the Deaf Education and Hearing Science Program 
at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
  In 2014, Karen graduated with a master's degree in deaf education and 
hearing science.
  Today, she is working as a special education teacher in Austin, TX. 
Here is a picture of her with the kids. She teaches 3- and 4-year-old 
kids who are deaf or hard of hearing. She teaches kids with 
disabilities. Here is what she said about DACA, the program that was 
abolished by President Trump, which allows her to live in the United 
States and to work as a teacher:

       DACA made me visible. DACA made it possible for me to teach 
     children who are deaf and hard of hearing. I am helping these 
     students and families on their journey to being able to 
     communicate and achieve their dreams. Before I didn't think I 
     had a voice, but now I do. . . . I get to change lives every 
     single day.

  Twenty thousand other DACA students and recipients like Karen are 
teachers in our schools. Because DACA was repealed, Texas stands to 
lose 2,000 teachers. I ask the State of Texas: Are you ready to lose 
Karen? Are you ready to lose 2,000 more just like her because the 
Senate and the House of Representatives refused to act, refused to 
legislate, refused to provide protection to her?
  As for Karen, her DACA expires in August of next year. This will be 
her last school year. If Congress doesn't step up and meet its 
responsibility and pass the Dream Act, her time teaching these deaf and 
hard of hearing children will come to an end.
  In a few days we are going to go home and celebrate Christmas with 
our families. It is a big, important time of year. My wife and I are 
looking forward to it. We get to see all of the grandkids in one place. 
It is going to be pure bedlam, but we are going to love every second of 
it. Christmas means that much to our families. Being together means so 
much to our families.
  Think for a moment about those who are protected with DACA. This may 
be their last Christmas in the United States. They don't know where 
they will be next Christmas because the President abolished the 
protection program and because Congress refuses to act. They don't know 
where they will be and they don't know whether they will be with family 
or not. That is the reality.
  What a reflection on our Nation that we have reached this point to 
punish someone like Karen, a giving, caring, educated professional 
person who is spending time helping little boys and girls who 
desperately need her help.
  Some in this Chamber--and I have seen them face to face--are ready to 
tell her to leave: We don't need you anymore, Karen. Go back to 
wherever you came from. Just get out of here. That is their attitude. 
It is not mine nor the majority of Americans.
  Over three out of four Americans believe Karen deserves a chance. 
Over three out of four Americans believe she should be allowed to stay 
and earn her way to legal status and citizenship. Incidentally, 60 
percent of those who voted for Donald Trump happen to believe that same 
thing.
  But there are voices of division and fear and hatred in this 
administration. I have seen them. I have heard them. I know what they 
have to say. The question is, will they prevail? Will they define this 
President in terms of his treatment of people who are just asking for a 
chance to be part of America's future? The answer to that question is 
really not in the President's hands. It is in our hands. We owe it to 
these young people to do the right thing.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I first thank our distinguished leader 
from Illinois, not only for his eloquence and passion but his 
unfettered commitment to the young people who were brought here as 
children, who maybe had never set foot in the country their parents 
came from and may not know the language. They are here, and a promise 
was made to them in our country.
  I spoke yesterday on the floor about two young people from Michigan. 
We have 10,000 young people in Michigan--some serving in the military, 
some in jobs, some in school--who don't know any other country. They 
love our country, and they just want our country to keep its promise to 
them. That is what I view it as, keeping our promises. So I thank the 
Senator.

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