[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 20574-20575]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING JOSEPH MEDINA

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, last week on the Senate floor, I talked 
about how I have always tried to find examples of Dreamers so that the 
citizens in my State can understand what we are talking about when we 
talk about the fact that someone could be brought over to our country 
and not even realize it and have this Dreamer status.
  I talked about Joseph Medina. He was a decorated Army veteran. He 
served in World War II. He lived in Minnesota. I am sad to say that he 
passed away last July at the ripe old age of 103 years old. There was a 
story about Joe in today's edition of our largest newspaper in 
Minnesota, honoring his contributions to our Nation during World War II 
and through his nearly a century as a proud and hard-working 
Minnesotan.
  Joe lost both of his parents before he was 1 year old. He was brought 
to the United States from Mexico by his aunt when he was just 5, and he 
didn't find out that he was undocumented during his whole time growing 
up. When did he find out? When he tried to join the Army in World War 
II.
  So what he did then, because he wasn't a citizen--back then, it was 
pretty simple; what they would do is have people go to Canada, 
especially if they lived in Minnesota, and that is how they would 
become citizens. So they sent Joe Medina to Canada for 1 day. I 
remember his telling me this story--that this is what they did during 
World War II when they wanted people to sign up and serve. He stayed in 
a hotel for 1 night, and he came back, and with the help of our 
military, he became a citizen.
  He then served under General MacArthur in the Pacific. Then he came 
home, got married, had a son, and that son served in the Vietnam war.
  Joe came to Washington, DC, with his son for the first and last time 
to see the World War II Memorial at age 99. I stood there by his side 
as he looked at the Minnesota part of that Memorial and thought of the 
people he knew who were no longer with us and thought of his service 
and how much he loved serving our country in World War II.
  At his side, along with his own son who had served in Vietnam, were 
two Dreamers--two high school students who were in high school in the 
suburban part of the Twin Cities, and they also wanted to join the 
military. If I remember right, they wanted to join the Air Force. Do 
you know what? The way the rules were a few years ago, they weren't 
allowed to do that. Joseph Medina couldn't understand that because the 
proudest part of his life was serving in our military, serving despite 
the fact that he was born in another country but lived almost his 
entire life--98 years of his 103 years--in America.
  So I join with all those in my State in remembering Joseph Medina and 
honoring his service to our country as we continue to work toward 
finding a solution for the Dreamers in the Senate.
  I note that we should also take action here at the end of the year, 
and we should be staying to get a number of priorities done, including 
a long-term reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program, 
dealing with the medical device tax, renewing funding for community 
health centers. There are so many things we need to do.
  In closing, I just want to make clear that I stand with my colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle who have spoken out in support of the Dream 
Act. We need to pass this bill.
  Thank you.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

[[Page 20575]]

  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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