National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018
Floor Speech
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Mr. President, we have seen the chaos and confusion created by the President's rescission of DACA that has created a humanitarian crisis in our country. That statement may seem like an exaggeration, but, for me, it is very clearly a statement of fact. I know it because I have seen it.
I held an emergency field hearing on Monday morning, and I listened to the stories of Dreamers--young people brought to this country, many of them before they could even say their own names, let alone know where they were going. This country has given them education, a place to live, a sense of freedom, and a sense of future. That future now is cut short. They have been threatened with deportation in just 6 months.
Their employers, their universities, their communities have no idea whether they can stay and continue their lives, productively and importantly to them and their communities, those workplaces and schools where they currently give back. They not only live and work here, but they give back.
Maybe, most importantly, there is the promise that has been made to them--the promise that was made to them when they came forward and they provided the United States of America with information--some of the most personal information that exists--about their Social Security number, their birth date, their address, and their family. The promise to them was that information would never be used against them and that they had a place here for the time that DACA guaranteed it. That promise now is about to be broken.
Great countries do not break promises. The United States is the greatest country in the history of the world. It should not be breaking promises to innocent young men and women who know only this country, speak only this language, have friends here alone, and actually families here. This rescission of DACA threatens to tear apart families, decimate lives, and create disarray and derailed futures. We are a country that is better than this rescission. We are and remain a country that keeps its promises.
At our hearing, I heard from young men and women like Carolina Bortolleto, originally from Brazil, brought to the United States when she was 9. She has lived in Connecticut for 19 years. She knew she was undocumented, but what she didn't know was that getting a job after school, a driver's license, applying for scholarships and financial aid for colleges would be out of bounds for her.
Seven years ago, she graduated from college with a degree in biology, but she was stuck. She had a diploma but couldn't use it. To fight for others like her, she cofounded CT Students for a DREAM. That organization has grown and become a formidable and powerful advocate for Dreamers.
When DACA was adopted in 2012, it changed the lives of young people like Carolina. It opened a new vista. She could get a driver's license and a job at a nonprofit where she was volunteering. She testified that she finally felt free and independent. She could be the person she wanted to be and the person the United States wanted her to be because she was contributing to our great Nation.
What we know of the Dreamers is that there are many like Carolina and like Alejandra. Alejandra Villamares was brought to the United States from Mexico at age 1. She and her family first settled in a small town in Colorado. She recounted in her testimony difficult memories of growing up undocumented. She remembers her older sister coming home from first grade crying because she had been bullied by other students.
She was bullied because she couldn't speak English. Her teachers also couldn't understand or help. She remembers her mother's anguish and pain when she heard about this bullying. Alejandra later encountered the same problems as her sister did.
When she was 11, her father was deported to Mexico. Her mother ran into the threat of financial problems, and the threat of deportation always lingered. She told us at this hearing about this life story, powerful and moving, but with a seemingly happy ending because she was able to go to Wesleyan, one of the best colleges in the country, and major in film studies with a certificate in international relations.
President Trump has put a target on the backs of these young people.
Alejandra's happy ending will be dashed. It will be a nightmare and a tragedy if this order truly goes into effect.
President Trump has thrown this ticking timebomb into the lap of Congress. It has potential real effects on real lives like Alejandra's and Carolina's and 10,000 like them in Connecticut--800,000 around the country--people whom the President has described as incredible and terrific, people whom he said he loves.
It would be the height of hypocrisy and inhumanity to deport them. It would be unprecedented in our history to have this kind of massive ejection from this country by plane, by boat, by car, by walking. It would be shameful and shocking for America to force this massive deportation, but it would also be an absolutely reprehensible and unforgivable violation of our promise, breaking our word, and violating certainly morality, if not law, and there would be legal claims based on due process and other rights that could be violated.
As I said, Carolina Bortolleto is originally from Brazil, but she was brought to the United States when she was 9. She has lived in Connecticut for 19 years. Growing up, she knew that she was undocumented, but she didn't know what that meant until high school, when she saw the opportunities that her classmates could have and that she couldn't--things like getting an after-school job, a driver's license, applying for scholarships and financial aid in college.
Seven years ago, she graduated from college with a degree in biology, but she felt stuck. She had a diploma but couldn't use it. To fight for others like her, she cofounded Connecticut Students for a DREAM, which has grown into a formidable organization that advocates on behalf of immigrants.
When DACA was enacted in 2012, it changed Carolina's life. She got a driver's license, a car, a job at a nonprofit where she had been volunteering. She told me that she finally felt free--that she finally felt independent. She told me that she could be the person that she had always wanted to be. Finally, she could plan for her future with certainty. Excited about what was to come, she went to graduate school for a Master's in Public Health.
She was on cloud nine--until last week, when President Trump made the decision to rescind DACA, threatening to take away all that Carolina has worked for--if we don't act.
In New Haven on Monday, I also heard from a girl who has requested that I don't mention her name here. She is from Canada. When she was 4 years old, her mother passed away in a terrible car accident. She was brought here with her grandmother, a hard-working nurse, who later also passed away. She has had to endure unimaginable loss at such a young age.
She was tremendously lucky that her aunt and uncle took her in as one of their own. She has grown into a leader at home who helps take care of her cousins, acting like a second mom to them. Her dream is to become a lawyer, and she works hard every single day toward that goal.
If Congress doesn't act, this ambitious young girl--who has already endured so much pain and suffering in her life--will be torn from everyone she knows. The children she helps to take care of will lose a mother figure. America will be robbed of a bright new lawyer.
I have heard some people treating Dreamers as bargaining chips in a political battle between the two parties. I have also heard that this is just about ``handouts'' for a particular group of people.
That is simply not true. Let me tell you what I know: The Dreamers I have met represent some of the best of America--young men and women who have pulled themselves up by the bootstraps, eager to build bright futures, and prosper, and give back to the only country that they have called home. They want to stay here, and we need them.
The statistics reinforce this point: If Congress doesn't pass the Dream Act, we will lose nearly $500 billion over 10 years. We will lose $25 billion in Medicare and Social Security taxes. In my home State alone, we stand to lose over $300 million a year.
It is time to do away with the myth that the Dreamers work on the sidelines of American society. They are woven into the fabric of this Nation. They drive our economy.
As I said, Alejandra Villamares was brought to the United States from Mexico at age 1. She and her family first settled into a small town in Colorado.
Alejandra recounted difficult memories of growing up undocumented.
She remembers her older sister coming home from the first grade, crying because she had been bullied by other students because she could not speak English. Her teachers did not understand her either and couldn't help. She remembers her mother's anguish at the pain and bullying her daughters endured. As Alejandra entered kindergarten, she began to go through the same struggle.
When she was 11, her father was deported to Mexico. Her mother ran into financial problems. The threat of deportation was always lingering in the back of her mind. Things weren't looking good.
And yet, she told me on Monday, ``I wanted this to be my country so badly. One thing I knew from the bottom of my heart was that I wanted to stay here, and that I was an American.''
In 2012, when DACA came into effect, she got her chance. She earned admission to Wesleyan, one of the best colleges in Connecticut, and she followed her artistic passions by majoring in film studies with a certificate in international relations.
She felt more empowered to speak up and help others. She held sessions for her peers at her high school to tell them about the college application process, and later became a program coordinator of an educational non-profit to mentor over 200 kids to navigate the college application process.
President Trump is putting a target on the backs of Alejandra and others like her. They will be deported if we do not pass the Dream Act.
In just a week, the President's decision has already sown confusion and chaos. There have been reports of ICE temporarily detaining DACA recipients, including reportedly 9 in Texas on Monday. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have devastated Texas and Florida, but the White House has not announced any extension to the DACA renewal deadline.
The administration has also been torn between two messages. The President has toed an apologetic line, telling Dreamers that they have ``nothing to worry about'' and that he will ``revisit the issue'' if Congress doesn't act--and yet his Department of Homeland Security has said that Dreamers should prepare to leave. If Congress does not pass the Dream Act, Alejandra, Carolina, and others will be at the mercy of a fickle administration. Their lives will be thrown into chaos.
In the stories of the Dreamers, I see my father, who fled Nazi Germany when he was 17 with little more than the clothes on his back.
He didn't know anyone, and he didn't speak English. He still believed in the promise of this country. These Dreamers believe in the promise of America, too.
The character of our Nation is at stake. We must act now.
Mr. President, I am convinced these stories are evidence that will be persuasive and convincing to my colleagues and that we cannot shirk our responsibility. We have a public trust to make America worthy of the American dream, to make that dream a reality for these young people, to make sure the Dreamers are protected against this cruel and irrational action that has threatened them.
We are the greatest Nation in the history of the world. We do keep our promises. We must enable the Dreamers to stay. We must pass the Dream Act, without encumbrances or poison pills or extraneous amendments. We must pass the Dream Act now.
Thank you, Mr. President.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
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