Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2015--continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. President, last Friday I had a meeting in Chicago with about 50 in attendance. It was Friday morning, and we gathered groups of people from across the city of Chicago and the State of Illinois who were focusing on one make-or-break issue for many of us.

It was an emotional issue, one that caused many to break down in tears as they told me their stories. It is the reason I have come back to the floor of the Senate today and every day since the election to talk about one specific issue that I believe is important for this Nation to reflect on.

Mr. President, 16 years ago a young lady contacted my office. Her name is Tereza Lee. She had been brought to the United States from Korea at the age of 2. She had grown up in Chicago with a family of modest means.
During the course of her childhood, she signed up for what is known as the Merit music program in Chicago. They offered free instruments and free musical instruction to kids from low-income families. It is a great program. Tereza Lee signed up, and it turned out she had an extraordinary talent at piano. When she came to contact my office, it was as she was leaving high school and applying to be accepted at the best music schools in the America--Juilliard in New York and the Conservatory of Music in Manhattan.

She went to fill out the application, and when it came to a question of her citizenship and nationality, she wasn't certain what to put. Her mother suggested that she call our office, and she did. We told her that under the law she was undocumented, brought here at the age of 2 on a visitor visa. Her mother had never filed any papers for her. She had grown up in America thinking she was an American citizen like her brother and sister who were born here, and she came to realize at the age of 17 or 18 that in the eyes of the law she had no legal standing in America.

The law is pretty harsh for people like Tereza. The law says she needs to leave the United States for 10 years and apply to return to the United States.

Where would she go--to Korea? She had never been there. She grew up in Brazil for a short period of time. She didn't speak the language. She doesn't speak Portuguese.

She was caught in the middle. That is why I introduced the DREAM Act.

It said that young people brought to the United States by their parents before the age of 16, if they finish school and have no serious criminal issues, should be given a chance to go to school further and have a legal status in America and, ultimately, to earn their way to citizenship--going to the back of the line and waiting their turn but at least setting that as their goal. I introduced that bill 15 years ago. It has never become law, but there are 2.5 million people in that circumstance in America.

Six years ago, the President of the United States created something called DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, by an Executive action. As a result of that action, President Obama allowed these eligible DREAMers--as they have come to be known--to receive DACA status.

In order to do it, they have to apply, come out of the shadows, declare themselves, file a fee of about $500 with the government, go through a criminal background check, and then be given temporary--only temporary--legal status so they can't be deported and can legally work, which is renewable every 2 years. As of today, 744,000 young people have done that. Many of them were in the room--at least some of them were in the room in Chicago last Friday.

They are not certain what is going to happen next. The new President has promised to end DACA. If he ends it, what happens to these young people? For instance, there are 28 of these DACA young people who are in medical school at Loyola University in Chicago--28 students who are undocumented who are there without any Federal Government assistance, and most of them have promised to give a year of service to the State of Illinois in rural areas and poor neighborhoods when they become doctors. If they lose their DACA status, they lose their ability to work legally in the United States and they cannot go through the clinical experience, which is part of becoming a doctor. They would have to drop out of medical school. There is one thing we can say for certain: We don't have an oversupply of doctors serving inner cities and rural areas in my State and across the Nation. We need these doctors.

If DACA changes, if it is eliminated, what will happen to these young people? That is a challenge which I face, and other Members have as well. I salute Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. He is working with me on legislation to address this, to at least give a temporary status to these DACA-eligible young people while we debate immigration reform in a larger context.

There are important issues at stake, but the most fundamental issue is one of fairness and justice. These young people did nothing wrong.

They were brought to this country by their parents. They have grown up in this country, gone to our schools, and there are some amazing stories of what they have done with their lives. I wish to tell you one of those stories. I have done this over 100 times now on the floor of the Senate.

This is Barbara Olachea. In 2002, when Barbara was 5 years old, her family brought her to the United States from Mexico. She grew up in Phoenix, AZ, and she knew she would face challenges, being undocumented. Her older sister had been accepted to Arizona State University but couldn't afford to go to school there. As an undocumented immigrant, she is not eligible for Federal financial assistance. Arizona law specifically prohibits State financial assistance to DREAMers such as Barbara and her sister.

During her freshman year in high school, a mentor told her that as a DREAMer, ``You're going to have to try harder than everybody else.'' Barbara said:

Those words confirmed what I had known all along. Although I was only starting high school, I began to dread what most students anticipate with excitement: graduation day. What if I got into my dream school, but I still couldn't go because I couldn't afford it?

In high school, Barbara was a great student and was involved in many extracurricular and volunteer activities. She was a member of the Academic Decathlon team for 4 years and team captain when she was a senior. She was a member of student government, yearbook, and homecoming. She volunteered to tutor middle school students and worked part time to save money for her education. She participated in a number of programs at Arizona State University, including the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. She recorded a story about her life that was aired on National Public Radio. This experience sparked her interest in journalism and led to an internship at KJZZ, the Phoenix affiliate for NPR.

Last year Barbara graduated as valedictorian of her high school class with a 4.5 grade point average. As a result of her accomplishments, Barbara was accepted at Dartmouth College, an Ivy League school, where she is now a sophomore.

Barbara wrote a letter to me and said this about DACA:

I am very grateful for DACA, as it allowed me to work and not be deported to a country I do not know and have not been to since I was five. Just like thousands of other undocumented students in the United States, I have grown up and become accustomed to the culture here. The U.S. is where I belong and I want to be a contributing member of society, as I have proved in my 13 years here.

Barbara and other DREAMers have so much to give. They are young, they are idealistic, they are energetic, and they are amazing. These young people have overcome odds that many young people never face in their lives. To think that in your freshman year of high school, you are reflecting on the fact that even if accepted to college, you may not be able to go--that was her future as she saw it then.

If DACA is eliminated, Barbara will lose her legal status and could be deported to Mexico--a country where she hasn't lived since she was 5. Will America be a better country if Barbara is deported or if she stays here and uses her talent, her determination, her energy, and her inspiration, for our future? I think the answer is clear.

Now is the time for America, this Nation of immigrants, to come together and heal the wounds that divided us in this election. I am just hoping that this President-elect, when he reflects on Barbara and 700,000-plus other DACA eligibles, will realize that they can bring important values and achievements to America's future. I am hoping that in the Senate, we can overcome our differences--and there are many deep differences, political differences--and give these young people a chance.

Senator Graham and I are basically working on a bill that says at least suspend their status so they won't be deported, so they can continue to work. Do that while we do our business here on the issue of immigration. That is only fair. It is only right. It is the right American way to approach an issue that can affect so many innocent American people.

I yield the floor.

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