[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 13438-13439]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING ARMY SPECIALIST MATTHEW TURCOTTE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, on August 23, Army 
Specialist Matthew Turcotte was killed during a live ammunition 
exercise at Fort Carson in Colorado.
  Specialist Turcotte was a lifelong resident of North Smithfield, 
Rhode Island. He joined the Army 2 years ago and was assigned to the 
4th Infantry Division.
  He died a hero, having earned numerous medals for his service to our 
Nation, including the Army Achievement

[[Page 13439]]

Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Last Saturday, 
hundreds gathered in Providence to give Specialist Turcotte a hero's 
farewell at his funeral mass.
  All of us know, who serve in this Chamber, that our country owes an 
enormous debt of gratitude to all who have served, and especially to 
those who have made the ultimate sacrifice on the altar of freedom.
  My thoughts and prayers are with Specialist Turcotte's family today, 
especially his wife, Megan, and his parents, Raymond and Liza.


    President Trump's Decision to Terminate the Deferred Action for 
                       Childhood Arrivals Program

  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I also want to spend a moment to speak 
about President Trump's decision to terminate the Deferred Action for 
Childhood Arrivals program. It is one of the cruelest in Presidential 
actions in recent memory. This was a shameful moment for our country. 
America has always stood as a beacon of freedom and opportunity, but 
not right now.
  The DACA program has allowed nearly 800,000 DREAMers to work, study, 
and serve their communities and Nation. That includes nearly 1,300 
DREAMers in my home State of Rhode Island.
  The DREAMers are workers and taxpayers. They pay $3 billion in taxes 
each year, including $2.6 million in my home State. They contribute $2 
billion each year to Social Security and another $470 million to 
Medicare.
  They didn't choose to come here. They were brought here by their 
parents as very young children. They love this country. They share our 
values. They are contributing to their communities every single day.
  They are young men and women like Lesdin Salazar, a 22-year-old Rhode 
Islander who came here from Guatemala with her parents when she was 7 
years old. Lesdin was a high school junior when President Obama signed 
an executive order to establish DACA. She was later accepted to Rhode 
Island College, where she is paying out of pocket today to pursue a 
degree in teaching. Lesdin also works at Calcutt Middle School in 
Central Falls, Rhode Island, where she helps kids who need behavioral 
and emotional support, but she will have to give up this dream unless 
Congress acts.
  The same is true of Ana Abigail Molina, a 27-year-old Rhode Islander 
who came to the United States when she was just 6 years old. Today Ana 
works at Thundermist Health Center and has dreams of going back to 
school to become a surgical technologist. And like so many DREAMers, 
Ana doesn't really remember much of the country where she was born. She 
considers herself an American.
  Javier Juarez also considers himself an American, a young man who 
just graduated from Rhode Island College and is planning to attend 
graduate school on an academic scholarship at Brown University starting 
this fall. His dream is to one day attend Harvard Law School.
  Javier has been living in Rhode Island for 18 years. Before DACA, he 
couldn't drive, get a good job, or go to college, but now he is the 
first member of his family to graduate from a 4-year university. He, 
too, will have to give up his American Dream unless Congress acts.
  And finally, Maribel Rivera Sosa, who came to Rhode Island from 
Mexico at the age of 9. When she graduated high school 5 years ago, 
Maribel didn't think she would be able to attend college, but just days 
later, when President Obama established DACA, Maribel's opportunities 
became limitless. She was able to attend the Community College of Rhode 
Island while working three separate jobs. After earning an associate's 
degree, Maribel enrolled at Johnson & Wales University, and her dream 
is to earn a master's degree in health administration.
  Who among us thinks that someone who works three jobs shouldn't be 
able to follow their dreams?
  This is just cruel. President Trump is ripping apart hundreds of 
thousands of families and injecting chaos and uncertainty into the 
lives of members of our community who know no other home than America. 
If Congress doesn't replace DACA with the Dream Act, it will result in 
$460 billion in lost economic activity over the next decade, including 
$61 million in Rhode Island.
  Republicans in Congress need to bring the Dream Act to the floor 
right now. We need a permanent solution, and I am proud to be a 
cosponsor of the bipartisan Dream Act. We need to bring that bill to 
the floor. Every Republican who disagrees with President Trump's 
actions needs to tell Speaker Ryan to bring the Dream Act to the floor.
  This Congress must act in a manner worthy of a country that has 
inspired these young DREAMers and pass the Dream Act without delay.

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