[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13446]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Aguilar) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, today is not a good day for our Nation. 
Today, 800,000 young people across this country are living in fear. 
They fear being ripped apart from the only home they have ever known. 
They fear being separated from their families, from their friends, and 
from the lives they have built here.
  They fear deportation, Mr. Speaker, and they live with this fear 
because President Trump has decided that the Federal Government is 
going to break its promise and turn its back on DREAMers.
  These are young men and women who did not break the law--they were 
brought to this country as children--who went to school here, who work 
here, and who pay taxes here.
  The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program brought 
these young people out of the shadows and offered them some relief. It 
gave kids who grew up here and who truly believe that America is their 
home a chance to lead normal lives and chase their dreams.
  The fact of the matter is, though, Mr. Speaker, that DACA did not go 
quite far enough. DREAMers are American by every measure except for 
their paperwork, and it is time that we offer them a path to 
citizenship.
  That is why I am here today to call upon my colleagues to bring the 
Dream Act back to the floor for a vote--no policy riders, no packages, 
just a straight up-or-down vote. Because if there are Members of this 
Chamber who still believe that DREAMers should remain in the shadows 
and that they should not have a chance to join our Nation as citizens, 
then they should stand up and be counted.
  Many of my colleagues here come from all walks of life. They have 
charted their own path, however difficult it may be to join this House. 
DREAMers have earned that chance to carve their own path, too. They 
have earned the right to live without fear and in peace as Americans. 
Passing the Dream Act is the right thing to do, it is the moral thing 
to do, and, quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, it is the American thing to do.

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