[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11972]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            PROTECTING DACA

  (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 rise to speak about the American Dream and 
those who need protection who are striving to fulfill it. These are 
individuals who have come to this country as children, as infants, 
through no fault of their own, and America is the only country they 
have ever known. In essence, they are Americans.
  Recognizing these realities, the Deferred Action for Childhood 
Arrivals program was created in 2012, otherwise known as DACA.
  Since that time, DACA has granted hundreds of thousands of young 
immigrants the stability and the protection needed to pursue a college 
degree and seek employment, to be a part of America's future.
  If we eliminate DACA, these students could see their pursuit of the 
American Dream swept away beneath them. In California's San Joaquin 
Valley, this could happen to over 500 students at the University of 
California, Merced, who I represent, as well as over 1,000 students at 
Fresno State University.
  Some here in Washington plan on trying to eliminate DACA in coming 
months, and I stand here to say we cannot let that happen.
  I urge the administration and those to stand with those of us who 
want to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and 
allow these folks to pursue the same American Dream that our parents, 
grandparents, and previous generations were able to do. Let's keep 
DACA.

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