DREAM Sabbath

Floor Speech

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, 10 years ago I introduced the DREAM Act legislation that would allow a select group of immigrant students with great potential to contribute more fully to America.

The DREAM Act would give these students a chance to earn legal status if they: came to the United States as children; are long-term U.S. residents; have good moral character; graduate from high school; and complete 2 years of college or military service in good standing.

The DREAM Act would make America a stronger country by giving these talented immigrants the chance to serve in our military and contribute to our economy. Tens of thousands of highly qualified, well-educated young people would enlist in the Armed Forces if the DREAM Act becomes law. And studies have found that DREAM Act participants would contribute literally trillions of dollars to the U.S. economy during their working lives.

These young people have overcome great obstacles to succeed. They are valedictorians, star athletes, honor roll students, and R.O.T.C. leaders. Now they want to give back to their country. The DREAM Act would give them that chance.

For the last 10 years I have been working on the DREAM Act, there has been one constant: strong support from the faith community. The DREAM Act is supported by almost every religious group you can imagine: Catholic, Methodist, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Evangelical Christians; Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews; and Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs.

The faith community supports the DREAM Act because it is based on a fundamental moral principle that is shared by every religious tradition--it is wrong to punish children for the actions of their parents.

These students were brought to this country as children. They grew up here pledging allegiance to the American flag and singing the only national anthem they have ever known. They are American in their hearts and they should not be punished for their parents' decision to bring them here.

During the past two months, people of faith all across this country have been showing their support for the DREAM Act by observing the first-ever ``DREAM Sabbath.''

During the DREAM Sabbath, at churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples around the country, Americans of many religious backgrounds have been offering prayers for the immigrant students who would be eligible for the DREAM Act. At many of these events, these DREAM Act students have told their stories.

In all, there have been more than 400 DREAM Sabbath events in 44 States.

In June, when I announced the DREAM Sabbath, I was joined by religious leaders from a great variety of faith traditions, including: Cardinal Theodore McCarrick; Bishop Minerva Carcaño of the United Methodist Church; Reverend Samuel Rodriguez of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; Reverend Derrick Harkins of the National Association of Evangelicals; Bishop Richard Graham of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Bishop David Jones of the Episcopal Church; Rabbi Lisa Grushcow; Imam Mohamed Magid of the Islamic Society of North America; Sister Simone Cambell, Executive Director of NETWORK; Rabbi Doug Heifetz; Dr. Fred Kniss, Provost of Eastern Mennonite University; and Father Jacek Orzechowski, Franciscan Friar, the Holy Name Province.

The DREAM Sabbath events reflect this great religious diversity. To give a few examples of the congregations who observed the DREAM Sabbath: The First Presbyterian Church of Cheyenne, Wyoming; The Central United Methodist Church in Fairmont, West Virginia; The Unitarian Church of Lincoln, Nebraska; Galloway Memorial Episcopal Church in Elkin, North Carolina; Grace United Methodist Church in Missoula, Montana; Trinity Episcopal Church in Winner, South Dakota; The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops; The Florida Catholic Conference of Bishops; and many Catholic dioceses.

In Tucson, AZ, the DREAM Sabbath was recognized at the National Hispanic Evangelical Immigration Summit, a gathering of 1,200 Evangelical ministers. This summit was convened by Reverend Sam Rodriguez and the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. In my home State of Illinois, I observed the DREAM Sabbath at, among other places, Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Congregation.

I worked with a remarkable team of leaders to put the DREAM Sabbath together. This team was led by Bill Mefford, director of civil and human rights at the United Methodist Church; Jen Smyers, associate director of immigration and refugee policy at Church World Service; and Liza Lieberman, grassroots policy associate at the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. I thank them, and the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, for their leadership.

I would also like to thank the following individuals for their tremendous efforts in ensuring that the DREAM Sabbath was observed in nearly every State in this country:

Kevin Appleby and Antonio Cube, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Nora Skelly, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service; Patrick Carolan, Franciscan Action Network; Tammy Alexander, Mennonite Central Committee; Larry Couch, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd; Sr. Mary Ellen Lacy, NETWORK: A Catholic Social Justice Lobby; Regina McKillip, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas; Kat Liu, Unitarian Universalist Association; Robert Gittelson, Conservatives for Comprehensive Immigration Reform; Jenny Yang, World Relief; and Ana White, Episcopal Church.

I would like to offer special thanks to Diana Villa, from United We Dream, for working to make sure that DREAM Act students could attend many of these DREAM Sabbath events and share their moving stories.

Finally, I would like to thank all of the Dreamers, as DREAM Act students call themselves, for having the courage and persistence to continue the fight for the DREAM Act.

If anyone is interested in becoming part of this important national movement, they can visit www.dreamsabbath.org or call my office at 202-224-2152.

The DREAM Sabbath is putting a human face on the plight of undocumented students who grew up in this country and will help build support for passage of the DREAM Act. Again, I thank all those who worked so hard to make DREAM Sabbath a reality. Because of these leaders, DREAM Act students remain in the prayers of the many thousands of Americans who have attended DREAM Sabbath events.

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