The Dream Act

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it is my honor to come to the Senate floor this evening to speak on the issue of the DREAM Act and to have among those in attendance on the floor of the Senate a group of Senators from Mexico who are part of the Mexican-American interparliamentary union. They are here on the floor with the majority leader, Harry Reid, as well as Senator Tom Udall, who is coordinating their visit to the United States over the next several days. We are honored that they are here and that they are allowed to come on the floor and to witness our Senate, at least in this proceeding where I will make a brief statement.

The issue I am going to raise in the course of this evening is one that is of importance to many people around the world--certainly in the United States and certainly in the nation of Mexico.

Ten years ago, I introduced a bill known as the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act was an effort to put into the law an opportunity for young people who were brought to the United States and are undocumented to have a chance to become legal in the United States.

The first person brought to my attention was a young woman in Chicago, IL, who was Korean. She came to the United States at the age of 2. She was an accomplished musician. She had been accepted at the very best music schools in America, including Juilliard School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music.

As she filled out her application form, she asked her mother about her nationality and citizenship. Her mother told her: I am sorry, I don't know the answer because we never filed any papers. We brought you here as a baby and you have lived here all your life, but we don't know what your status is.

She said: What should we do?

Her mom said: We should call Durbin's office.

So they called my office, and we checked on the laws in America, and unfortunately the laws did not allow her to be treated as a legal person in the United States. In fact, the American law said she had to return to the country she came from, which coincidentally was Brazil, not Korea. She had no way of knowing that. Her family had gone from Korea to Brazil to the United States. There she was at the age of 18 with a great opportunity ahead of her and no country. She had lived for 16 years in the United States. She believed she was an American. She knew no other country. She got up every day in school and said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the national anthem. Yet she was a person without a country.

Well, it was because of her that I introduced the DREAM Act 10 years ago. What it basically says is that many young people who are brought to the United States as children should not be punished because their parents didn't file the necessary papers. The DREAM Act would give these students a chance to become legal in America. They would have to first prove they came here as a child, they are long-term U.S. residents, they have good moral character, graduate from high school, and be prepared to do one of two things: either serve in the U.S. military or complete at least 2 years of college.

So I introduced this bill 10 years ago thinking it was a simple matter of justice that these young people would have their chance. I had no idea how many young people were affected or would be affected. As I went around the city of Chicago and the State of Illinois and spoke at gatherings about the DREAM Act, it wasn't unusual for young people to be waiting for me outside afterward, and they would say very quietly: I am one of those DREAM Act kids. I was brought here, and I am undocumented, and I don't know what I am going to do with my life. They would be very quiet about it. I would say: Well, I will do my best to pass this law.

As time passed and we tried to bring this to the floor many times, things changed some. We picked up support from a lot of different people.

The Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, supports the DREAM Act. He called me one day and said: As the former president of Texas A&M, I know what it means to have college students who cannot attend an away game for any sports because they are undocumented, and if they were stopped and asked to produce identification, they could be deported. As Secretary of Defense, I know what it would mean if we could bring these young people into the American military. There would be more diversity. We would be a stronger nation, so I support it.

GEN Colin L. Powell also has endorsed the DREAM Act. He believes, as I do, that this is a fair thing to do, a just thing to do, and would be good for our military.

Over the years, these young people started coming forward more and more and speaking about their lives, and, perhaps with more bravado than they should have, they were prepared to risk deportation to tell their stories. Over the years, these Dreamers have become an important part of this effort to pass the DREAM Act. We have the support of so many groups across America, including religious groups and many others who believe this is the right and fair thing to do. We invite young people across America, if they want to voluntarily do so, to tell us their stories.

I come to the floor of the Senate tonight to tell two stories about two young DREAM Act people and their lives.

The first one is Juan Rios. This is a photograph of Juan Rios, who was brought to the United States when he was 10 years old. He grew up in the State of Arizona. In high school, Juan discovered his calling: military service. He became a leader in the Air Force Junior ROTC, as we can see from his uniform. He became group commander and arm drill team captain and rose to the rank of cadet lieutenant colonel. Juan dreamed of one day attending the Air Force Academy, but he was unable to do so because he is undocumented. Instead, Juan enrolled in Arizona State University.

This is a more recent photograph of Juan on his commencement day at Arizona State University. Juan graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in aeronautical engineering. Since graduation, Juan has been waiting for his chance to either serve in our military or to use his degree. He can't enlist, obviously, because he is undocumented, and he can't work in his field--the aeronautics industry--because of the same legal obstacle.

He just sent me a letter, and this is what it said:

The United States of America is the country I want to live my life in, where I want to flourish as a productive citizen, where I want to grow old among my lifelong friends, where I want to one day fall in love and raise a family.

What we heard from Juan we could hear from young people all across America. It is his American dream--a dream that won't come true unless we pass the DREAM Act.

This next young lady I wish to introduce my colleagues to is someone I met just a few weeks ago. This is Tolu Olubumni. She was brought to the United States from Nigeria when she was a child. She graduated from high school here in the United States at the top of her class. She won a full scholarship to a prestigious university in Virginia and in 2002 graduated with a degree in chemical engineering.

It has been 10 years since I first introduced the DREAM Act in 2001 and almost 10 years since she graduated from college. The DREAM Act has yet to become law, and she has yet to work 1 day as a chemical engineer because she is undocumented. Instead, Tolu has dedicated her life to passing the DREAM Act for her benefit and the benefit of others. For years, she has worked as a full-time volunteer. Recently, she wrote me a letter, and this is what she said:

I don't have a powerful organization behind me or a fancy job title or even a paycheck, but I am committed to stand and fight for you for as long as you ask me to.

Tolu is not standing alone. Her commitment and the commitment of many other Dreamers is what inspires me to continue this effort for the DREAM Act.

There are so many others like Tolu who are living a life of uncertainty. They have amazing accomplishments in their lives, and yet they can't use the degrees they have earned to make this a better nation and to have a whole life of their own. So last month I reintroduced the DREAM Act. Tolu joined me on that occasion, with Senator Harry Reid, who has been a strong supporter; BOB MENENDEZ, our Hispanic colleague here in the Senate; and Richard Blumenthal from the State of Connecticut.

Here is what Tolu said:

Passing the DREAM Act is critically important to me and so many others. I don't believe I am entitled to anything more than what this great Nation has taught me--that we all have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

She is right. Thousands of immigrant students in the United States were brought here as children. It wasn't their decision to come, but they grew up here, they made it their home, and they are prepared to make this a better Nation.

Some of my colleagues have come to the floor of the Senate criticizing the DREAM Act because people under the age of 35 are eligible. They say the DREAM Act should really only benefit children. They ignore the obvious: In order to qualify for the DREAM Act, an individual must have come to the United States as a child, just like Tolu. Now she is 30 years old. She has been waiting patiently for 10 years. To say she is now ineligible because we have not acted I think would be fundamentally unfair.

Today we had an interesting speech which I listened to on the floor. It was the first speech--so-called maiden speech--of our colleague, Senator Marco Rubio from Florida. It was an excellent speech, and I complimented him afterward. Among the things he talked about was the contribution of immigrants to the United States.

I am a first-generation American. My mother was an immigrant to this country. One hundred years ago, in 1911, her mother brought her at the age of 2 into this country. My mother didn't become a citizen until her mid-twenties, after she was married and had already had two children. She was a very proud and hard-working woman, raised a good family, I think--I am a little bit partial--and now her son is a U.S. Senator from Illinois.

This is not just my story. It is not just my family's story. This is the American story. This is who we are, immigrants who came to this country and risked everything to be a part of America and only asked for a chance--a chance to make this a better Nation and to create a better life for them and their families. The DREAM Act will give thousands of young people across America that chance to become a part of America's future. It is the just and fair thing to do to make us a stronger Nation and to keep our promise that we are going to be fair in the way we administer the laws.

I urge my colleagues to take a look at the version of the DREAM Act that has been introduced. I urge them as well to join me as cosponsors. We will work carefully with other countries and other nations to make sure we demonstrate to them the sense of fairness that is part of America.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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