Hearing of the Immigration, Refugees and Border Security Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee - DREAM Act

Statement

This hearing of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security will come to order. Today's hearing is on the DREAM Act. This legislation would allow a select group of immigrant students with great potential to earn legal status.

Before I begin, I want to thank Senator Leahy, the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Senator Schumer, the Chairman of the Immigration Subcommittee, for their long-standing support for the DREAM Act, and for giving me the opportunity to hold the first-ever Senate hearing on this bill.
Thousands of immigrant students in the United States were brought to the United States as children. It was not their decision to come to this country, but they grew up here pledging allegiance to our flag and singing our national anthem.

The DREAM Act would give these young people a chance to earn legal status if they have good moral character and go to college or serve in the military.
The DREAM Act is not just the right thing to do. It would make America a stronger country by giving these talented immigrants the chance to contribute more fully.

The young people who would be eligible for the DREAM Act call themselves Dreamers.

Over the years, I have met hundreds of these Dreamers. Today, I want to introduce some of them.

Ten years ago, I was contacted by Ann Monaco, a teacher at the Merit School of Music in Chicago. One of her students -- Tereza -- was a musical prodigy who had played as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She had been accepted into several of the country's most prestigious music conservatories. But Tereza had a problem. Her parents had brought her to the United States when she was two, and she was undocumented.
We contacted the INS and they told us there was only one option: Tereza would have to leave the United States. That's when I began to work on the DREAM Act.

Tereza went on to obtain her BA and Masters from the Manhattan School of Music. In 2009, she played at Carnegie Hall. Today, Tereza is pursuing her Doctorate at the Manhattan School of Music.

Nelson and Jhon came to the United States from Venezuela when Nelson was 11 and Jhon was 9.

They were both honors students at Lakeside High School in Atlanta, Georgia. Jhon served with distinction in the Air Force Junior R.O.T.C. He was the 4th highest ranking officer and Commander of the Air Honor Society in his unit.

Nelson and John are now honors students at Georgia Tech University, one of the most selective engineering schools in America. Nelson is a senior computer engineering major with a 3.6 GPA. Jhon is a sophomore biomedical engineering major with a 3.5 GPA.

Tolu was brought to the United States from Nigeria when she 14.
Tolu graduated from high school at the top of her class. She won a full scholarship to a prestigious university in Virginia. In 2002, Tolu graduated with a degree in chemical engineering.

It has been nine years since Tolu graduated from college. She has yet to work a day as a chemical engineer because she is undocumented.

There are many others here today who I would like to introduce, but my time is short.

Let me ask everyone here today who is a DREAM Act student to stand and be recognized.

When I look around this room, I see the future doctors, nurses, scientists, and soldiers who will make this country stronger.

I ask my colleagues to consider the plight of these young people, who find themselves in a legal twilight zone through no fault of their own. They are willing to serve our country, if we would only give them a chance.

Opponents of the DREAM Act always say they sympathize with DREAM Act students. They criticize the details of the bill, but they offer no alternative. Do they want these young people to be deported to countries that they barely remember? Or to continue living in the shadows?

These Dreamers would happily go to the back of the line and wait their turn for citizenship, but there is no line for them to get into.

I urge my colleagues to support the DREAM Act. It is a matter of simple American justice.

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