Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

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By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Begich, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Coons, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Franken, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Reed, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Udall of Colorado, and Mr. Whitehouse):

S. 952. A bill to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien students who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States as children and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. DURBIN. We had a historic vote in the Senate last December on the DREAM Act. Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, promised that we would bring this measure for consideration on the floor of the Senate. Some people on both sides of the aisle said, it is a bad idea, do not do it. But he kept his word, and I am glad he did.

We called it. We had three Republican votes, and we fell short. Oh, we had a majority. It seems as if we always have a majority when we call this bill. But because of the threat of a Republican filibuster, we needed 60 votes, and we did not reach the 60 votes necessary. So 55 Senators, a bipartisan majority, voted for the DREAM Act. I have reintroduced it today. By way of background, this is a simple piece of legislation, but it is one that affects thousands of people across America. It came to my attention 10 years ago when a Korean-American woman called me in my Chicago office and told me she had a problem.

She had come to the United States about 18 years before and brought her little girl with her. She had raised a family. She was now a naturalized citizen. The children who were born in the United States were citizens. But her older daughter was in a different status. Her older daughter was a special person. Her older daughter was a concert pianist who had been accepted at the Julliard School of Music in New York, the best. As she filled out the application form, and they asked for her citizenship, she turned to her mom and said: USA, right?

And her mom said: You know, we never filed any papers for you.

So the little girl said: What should we do?

And her mom said: We ought to call DURBIN.

So they called my office, thinking I could solve this. I found out the awful truth. Our laws currently say the only recourse for that little girl--who came here at the age of 2, who grew up in the United States, going to school here, saying the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag every morning, singing the only national anthem she knew, speaking the only language she knew--under our law could never be a U.S. citizen and had to leave our country.

What is wrong with this? Well, it is unfair. That is what is wrong. At 2 years of age, she had no voice in the decision of her family to come here. She had done everything right. All she was asking for, all she continues to ask for, is a chance to be part of the only country she has ever known, a country she dearly loves.

The DREAM Act gives young people that chance. It says: You can have a chance if you graduate high school, have no criminal record involving anything of a serious nature, if you are prepared go through and prove that you have been in the United States, came before the age of 16, been here at least 5 years, then you will have a chance to apply. If you apply, you have two ways that you can reach legal status in our country: Serve in our military, or complete at least 2 years of college. For thousands of young people across America, this is the only way to get them out of their current situation.

We just had a press conference with Senator Harry Reid and Senator BOB MENENDEZ, as well as Senator Blumenthal of Connecticut to reintroduce this DREAM Act. At that press conference was a young woman who
told her story. Like thousands of others it is a compelling personal story. Her name is Tolu Olubunmi. She was born in Nigeria and brought to the United States as a child. She graduated her high school with honors. She was awarded a full scholarship to one of the Nation's top universities. In college, she was a leader: a peer counselor, a resident assistant, a volunteer in an abused women's shelter, and a research analyst in the department of engineering.

Tolu received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 2002. But she has never been able to work 1 day as a chemical engineer in America because she is undocumented.

She cannot leave this country, because she could not return. She cannot get a job in this country because she is undocumented. Her whole life is focused on America. She is asking for a chance to be an engineer, to be a productive part of America, to move us forward as a nation. The DREAM Act would give her that chance.

When we introduced the bill today, we have 32 original cosponsors. We are hoping for more. We have the Democratic leadership, the Chairs of the Judiciary, Armed Services, and Homeland Security Committees, and all 10 Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee. I want to thank the lead sponsors over in the House: Howard Berman of California, Luis Gutierrez, from my State of Illinois, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida. Thanks to their leadership last year, the House passed the DREAM Act.

I want to especially thank the President. As a Senator and my colleague from Illinois, he was a cosponsor of this bill. He has been a strong supporter ever since. He never fails to mention the DREAM Act in his conversations with America about immigration. Yesterday, he said:

These are kids who grew up in this country, love this country, and know no other place as home. The idea that we should punish them is cruel and it makes no sense. We are a better nation than that.

The President is right. This is a matter of simple justice. Thousands of immigrant students in America were brought here as children. It was not their decision to come here. But they grew up here and they called it home. The fundamental premise of the DREAM Act is an American premise. We do not hold children responsible for the wrongdoings of their parents.

These young people do not want a free pass. They do not want amnesty. All they want is a chance to earn their place in America. That is what the DREAM Act would give them. The DREAM Act would strengthen our national security, making thousands of young people eligible to serve. That is why the Department of Defense and Secretary Gates support it.

In fact, the Secretary said:

There is a rich precedence supporting the service of non-citizens in the U.S. military. ..... The DREAM Act represents an opportunity to expand this pool to the advantage of military recruiting and readiness.

The first casualty in the war in Iraq was a Hispanic who was not a citizen of the United States, was not even a permanent resident of the United States. But he had volunteered to serve his country and gave his life. I think that shows the level of commitment these young people have to this great Nation.

A recent study at UCLA found that allowing the DREAM Act to pass would put so many productive young people into our economy, they will generate jobs, they will build businesses, they will help our economy grow.

I want to salute in your home State of New York, Madam President, Mayor Michael Bloomberg who has spoken out in support of the DREAM Act, and said:

They are just the kind of immigrants we need to help solve our unemployment problem. Some of them will go on to create new small businesses and hire people. It is senseless for us to chase out the home-grown talent that has the potential to contribute so significantly to our society.

When you take a look at the supporters of the DREAM Act, they have such diverse backgrounds. They include business leaders such as Rupert Murdoch, and the CEOs of companies such as Microsoft and Pfizer.

There are some who oppose the DREAM Act and argue that we need to enhance border security first. I can certainly make the argument, as the President did yesterday, that we have done extraordinary things, more than doubling the number of people at the border, adding technical devices there to detect people who are trying to cross, using drones, building fences.

We have gone, I think, as far as I can imagine, but I am open--I told a Republican Senator this morning: I am open to any reasonable suggestion to make the border safer. But I say to my friends on the other side of the aisle, if we show good faith in border enforcement, can you join us by showing good faith in helping to pass the DREAM Act? I do not think that is an unreasonable exchange. I am open to their ideas. I hope they are open to the idea of the DREAM Act.

I also have to say that many of the young people who are affected by this have been dramatically positive in their contribution to America. There are restrictions in the DREAM Act that prevent abuse. The DREAM Act students would not be eligible for Pell grants or other Federal grants, which means they are going to pay more to go to school.

DREAM Act students will be subject to tough criminal penalties for fraud, including a prison sentence of up to 5 years. No one is eligible for the DREAM Act unless they arrived in the United States at least 5 years before the bill becomes law, and there is no exception and no waiver.

Also the DREAM Act specifically includes a 1-year application deadline. An individual would be required to apply for conditional nonimmigrant status within 1 year of obtaining a high school degree or GED, or within 1 year of when the bill becomes law.

This is not an amnesty. On many occasions I have come to the floor to tell the personal stories of people who are involved. Their lives speak more eloquently than anything I can say on the floor. Let me tell you about Nelson and Jhon Magdaleno. They are brothers who came to the United States from Venezuela when Nelson was 11 and Jhon was 9.

They were both honor students at Lakeside High School in Atlanta, GA. This is a picture of Nelson Magdaleno at graduation. Jhon, his brother, served with distinction in the Air Force Junior Officer Reserve Corps. He was the fourth highest ranking officer in a 175-officer cadet unit and commander of the Air Honor Society. Here is a picture of Jhon in his ROTC uniform in high school.

Both Jhon and Nelson are honor students at Georgia Tech University, a great school. It is one of the most selective engineering schools in America. Nelson, who is now 21, is a junior. He is a computer engineering major with a 3.6 GPA. Jhon, 18, is a freshman. He is a biomedical engineering major with a 4.0 GPA.

Let me ask my colleagues, can we afford to lose these two young people? Well, I guess we could but at great expense because their talent, their energy, their determination to make a contribution to America can make us a better nation. I don't think returning them to Venezuela, a country they have never called home, is going to be good for the United States.

John David Bunting, Nelson and Jhon's uncle, wrote me a letter about his nephews. Here is what he said:

They will be able to give back so much to our country if they are allowed to stay. I am overwhelmed by my pride in them and how they have managed to persevere and even flourish under these circumstances. ..... I also have two young sons and I teach them about the incredible history of the United States and the way that our country can address wrongs committed in its name and come out of the process even stronger. Please help us.

Nelson and Jhon asked the Department of Homeland Security to stop their deportation proceedings. After I received their uncle's letter, I contacted the Department and asked them to consider this case. The Department has decided to grant a stay to Nelson and Jhon to give them a chance to continue their education. That was clearly the right thing to do.

Some have criticized the Obama administration for granting this kind of deferral action to a small number of DREAM Act students, but this is exactly what the Bush administration did. I wish to commend President George Bush, who was steadfast and consistent in his support of immigration reform.

It is a waste of limited resources to deport two fine engineering students from the United States, and it is entirely consistent with the law to grant them deferred action.

Let me tell my colleagues about another student, Pedro Pedroza. Here is his photograph. Pedro was brought to Chicago from Mexico when he was 5 years old. He graduated from St. Agnes Catholic School in Little Village, a great part of our city of Chicago. He was an honor student at St. Ignatius College Prep, one of the best schools in Chicago. He is now a student in New York at Cornell University in Ithaca. His goal is to become a teacher.

Do we need teachers with his qualities? You bet we do, not just in New York but in Illinois and across America. But, unfortunately, Pedro is in deportation proceedings. He was riding a bus from Chicago back to school in New York when immigration agents arrested him. He has asked the Department of Homeland Security to grant him a stay, and I hope they will. It makes no sense to send someone like Pedro, who has so much to contribute, to a country he barely remembers.

Here is what he wrote to me in a letter:

Mexico is not only unfamiliar to me, but leaving the U.S. means leaving everything and everyone I know. I only hope I can have a future in the U.S. for as long as I am here. Even if I am left no choice but to leave for Mexico, I would still strive to adjust my status and return to a place I consider home--The United States of America.

The last photograph I wish to show is Steve Li. This is his photograph. His parents brought him to the United States when he was 11 years old. He is a student at the City College of San Francisco where he has majored in nursing and is a leader in student government. He wrote a letter:

My dream is to become a registered nurse at San Francisco General Hospital and be a public health advocate. I want to give back to my community by raising awareness about preventive care and other health care issues. I am well on my way to achieving that dream. By passing the DREAM Act, I will be able to achieve these goals and contribute to the growing health care industry.

So can we use more health care professionals? You bet we could. Nurses, we need a lot of them. In fact, the United States imports thousands of foreign nurses each year in this country because we just don't have enough.

Unfortunately, Steve Li is also in deportation proceedings. His case is especially complicated because while his parents are Chinese, he was born in Peru. So he could be deported back to Peru where he knows no one and has no family members.

Senator Feinstein asked the Department of Homeland Security to consider his case. They have given him a temporary stay, for now.

I first introduced the DREAM Act 10 years ago. Since then, I have met so many immigrant students who would qualify for it. When I first brought up this bill I used to have meetings in Chicago. After the meetings, without fail there would be someone waiting for me outside. Sometimes in the dark of night they would be standing by my car. They were always young and most of them had tears in their eyes, and they would say to me: Senator Durbin, please pass the DREAM Act. It is my life.

Times have changed. Ten years of effort, even passing it with a majority, hasn't resulted in this becoming a law because of the Republican filibuster. Times have changed to the point where the DREAM Act students are now stepping up and saying: Here we are. This is who we are. We are not going to hide in the shadows anymore.

When we debated that bill on the floor of the Senate last December, the galleries were filled with students wearing graduation gowns and caps, waiting, praying for the vote, and it failed. They left, many of them crying. They went downstairs, and I met with them. They couldn't have felt worse. They just don't know where to turn. They are being rejected by the only country they have ever known, the only place they have ever called home.

I said to them: I am not giving up on you. Don't give up on me. We are going to keep working on this.

We reintroduced the bill today. I thank my colleagues who have already cosponsored it. I urge and plead with others who have not for simple justice and fairness. Give these young people a chance. That is all they are asking for.

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