Our country and our church and by every social and Human Behavior american youth. We strongly urge congress to act and immediately resume work toward a legislative solution. We pledge our support to work on finding an expeditious means of protecting daca youth. As people of faith, we say to daca youth, regardless of your immigration status, you are children of god and welcomed in the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church supports you and ll advocate for you. That was september 5, 2017. That was the day that the president issued his statement. Now, having worked with the bishops for a while, for them to have such a definitive statement so quickly is pretty remarkable because sometimes it takes a bit longer for their deliberative process to work. But this came right away. Ok. This is doctors and dreamers. I mentioned about the need for doctors and the ambition and he vocation that these young people were feeling toward becoming doctors and i read this. The association of american medical colleges reports the nations doctors shortage will rise to be between 40,000 and 105,000 by the year 2030. Both the medical American Medical Association and the association of american medical colleges have warned that ending daca will exacerbate this physician shortage in the United States. And they have urged congress to pass legislation to protect dreamers. Are you listening . Listen to what the a. M. A. Says. Estimates have shown that daca would help 50,000 previously ineligible physicians in the coming decades to help address physician shortages and ensure Patient Access to care. Removing those with daca status will particularly create care shortages for rural and other underserved areas. Without these physicians, the a. M. A. Is concerned that the quality of care provided in these communities will be negatively impacted and Patient Access to care will suffer. This is remarkable and im glad i will submit it for the record. I will make sure all of i acknowledged mr. Thompson earlier. Congresswoman grace neap of california is with us napolitano of california is with us. Jackie speier. Jamie raskin of maryland. Val demings i mentioned earlier. Congressman let me see, alma adams i recognized earlier, too. Ms. Barragan, i Brenda Lawrence from of michigan who brings that heartland of America Perspective to it. Ms. Kuster of new hampshire. Congresswoman Eddie Bernice johnson of texas is well as well. Many have come and gone. I acknowledged everybody already. Anybody new on this side . Ok. From bably want to hear victor esparaza. The day i received my employment authorization card through president obamas daca program, is the day i began to live without fear. The uber small and not very well known village of eau claire, michigan is the place that raised me since i was 7 years old. My Elementary School teachers never treated me differently because i came from somewhere else and didnt speak the language at the time and for that, i loved them. I took pride in doing my best in my High School Courses even though i was filled with anxiety for not knowing what would be next in my life after my graduation in the summer of 2008. As my former High School Peers went off to universities and employment, i went off to live in the shadows. Living under the metaphorical shadow referred to driving without proper driving permits as the state you lived in required proof of legal residency when applying for a drivers license. Driving like this meant risking legal problems when heading out to the Grocery Store if you made a driving mistake and got caught for it. Living in the shadows meant no Financial Assistance at you local Community College which pretty much created an impossible financial barrier between your career dreams and you. In the shadows you had no option, but to work in the same farm as your family. And let me tell you, perseverance is a requirement when laboring for below the minimum hourly rate in a sweltering induced condition. This life was my own before daca and i may not be in the shadows any longer, but my family and relatives havent escaped yet. I have been working as an i. T. Support analyst for a midsize drug company for under a year now. This is the best job i have ever had and i dont say this because my hourly pay has increased, i genuinely love what im doing now. Victor tells us. Unless you know me on a deep level, you would think i was just another 26yearold with a promising career and not someone plagued by fear of Trump Campaign promises. This narrative i feel is not only mine, it is owned, shared by hundred thousands of others who also have persevered because of daca. If i could have a conversation with thewould tell him just that, that president elect, i we have persevered. Thank you, victor. Enator durbin has sent us some more stories. Again, hes our hero in the senate. He introduced the bill in 2001, has spent most of his has spent most of his official areer with daca as a priority. He has been a champion for americas working families. Hes about creating jobs, goodpaying jobs for the future, about safety in the workplace. He is the person, along with frank loudenberg, who got smoking off of airlines. Thank you, as one who last week i had eight flights in 10 days. Thank you, senator durbin, for that. He has been a champion in so many, many ways. Champion of the National Institutes of health. Of learning from experience from his own Daughters Health about the health of the biblical power of cure that the National Institutes of health has and appropriator for that. The list of his accomplishments is great and this is one of them. The dreamers. Sent us this story from cesar montelongo. Today, i want to tell you about cesar. When cesar was 10 years old, cesar was 10 years old, his family came to the United States from mexico. He grew up in new mexico where his academic prowess was quickly apparent. He graduated high school with a grade point average above 4. 0 and he was ranked third in his class. Third in his class. He was a member of the chess, french, spanish, physics and science club. He even took College Courses the last two years of high school. Cesar went on to new mexico state uvsity where he was a tripleajor in biology, microbiology and spanish as well as two minors in chemistry and biochemistry. Cesar graduated with distinction and in the honors track with 3. 9 g. P. A. Cesar then earned a masters degree in biology with a minor in molecular biology while also orking as a teaching assistant. At s the first daca student Loyola School of medicine. Ess antiing his third year of this highly Competitive Program and upon completion he will receive a medical degree and doctoral degree in science. Cesar is more than the 30 Daca Recipients in the stretch school of medicine which is the first school to admit daca students. Thank you, loyola Medicine School of medicine. His started in 2014. Daca students do not receive special treatment of the Selection Process and are not eligible for any federal assistance. Many have committed to working in a medically Underserved Community in illinois after graduation. Researching ngo is how the potential implications of urinary diseases. Hes a spanish interpreter at a clinic and mentor for other medical students. Cesar said when i was very young my father became ill and was bedridden for months. He was the primary breadwinner and saw him as our protector. Watching him immobilized and screaming in pain has impacted my world view. Years later my father suffered myopathy. Ic knowing this could have been prevented by education and relatively inexpensive medication was heartbreaking. By that time it made me realize the potential of medicine. Cesars dream of the future, to become a practicing physician and scientist to develop new and improved clinical diagnostic tools so doctors can diagnosis and treat disease faster. Because so many dreamers have enrolled in medical schoolsut beuse of daca they can be deported back to countries where they havent lived since they were children. Will america be a stronger country if we deport them . People like cesar . I dont think so. Do we have our a. M. A. Thing again . Remember that a. M. A. Statement we now want ant william. Bout william grew up in the boston area and then moved to florida. In high school he was an honor student and graduated 3. 8 g. P. A. He was also be a athlete playing High School Soccer and football teams. William is now student at the university of Central Florida where he has a 3. 5 g. P. A. He will graduate in the spring of 2019 with his bachelors degree in criminal justice. Hes also working a fulltime job in order to support himself. Because hes a daca recipient, william isnt eligible for Financial Aid from the federal government. Women withs dream, to enlist in the military williams dream, to enlist in the military, and then to become an officer with his local police department. Thanks to daca, william is on his way to fulfilling his dream. Last year he enlisted in the Army National interest program. Heres a photo of him with his recruiter with the enlistment ceremony. The program, as mentioned earlier, allows immigrants with skills to enroll in the armed services. More than 800 Daca Recipients with these Critical Skills have joined the military through this program. Some Trump Administration officials claimed that daca is taking jobs away from americans. But william d hundreds of other dreamers have vital skills that our military couldnt find elshere william, along with other dreamers, is waiting to ship out to basic training. He continues his undergraduate studies and working full time, awaiting his chance to serve the country he loves. Wilmer wrote this letter. My desire to serve this letter and help people pay back my dues and to lead by example by showing my fellow daca members that anything is possible with hard work, perseverance, and dedication. William and other dreamers have so much to contribute to our country but without the dream act, those with skills with vital interest to our country will be kicked out of the army. They want nothing more than to serve and theyre willing to die for the country they call home. Instead, they could be deported back to countries they havent lived in since they were children. Will america be stronger if we deport william and people like him, who want to stay here and serve in the armed forces . I think the answer is quite clear. No, we wont be strong. Today, again, i want to tell himena. Her family came to the United States from mexico city when she was 9 years old. She lives in the city of houston. We have a lot of houston folks. Jerry mcnerney, thank you for being here. Mr. Mcgovern, i acknowledged y earlier. Raul grijalva, who really has been an outstanding leader on this subject, has joined us, but hes been with us in every meeting today on the subject. Thank you, all, for joining us ere. Congresswoman nita velazquez, the nydia velazquez, the fact she was chair when we passed the dream act. And as mentioned earlier, senator durbin was the chair in the senate. We thank those two leaders once again. Imena was jimena was 9 years old when her family to the cames to the United States. She served in the junior rotc program. Under her leadership, her battalion was named the best battalion in Houston Independent School district. She also served as captain of her High School Soccer team and a regular volunteer at the houston food bank. A real leader, jimena is majoring in communications at the university of houston. Shes interned with United States representative Sheila Jackson lee and city councilmember gallego. She was asked by the mayor of houston to serve as the youngest member of the mayors hispanic advisory board. Shes the first daca recipient to serve on the board. Last week in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, she stepped in to help her Community Just like she has always den. She volunteered at shelters, helping people with fema and red cross applications, she was joined by many other Daca Recipients. Its a stunning story, Daca Recipients helping after urricane harvey. Jimena wrote me a letter this is from senator durbin and asked for only one thing, for President Trump to come meet the daca volunteers and hear their stories. Jimena and other dreamers have so much to contribute to our country. Again irk ask the question, would america be stronger if we deported jimena . I dont think so. Christina ve laz quezz, no relation, i guess, congresswoman velazquez. When she was 6 years old, her family came to the United States from venezuela. She went to Elementary School in madison, wisconsin. She wrote this letter, in it she talked about he childhood and she said, i spent my formative childhood years in the midwest where i learned to assimilate and learned the value this is country was founded on this salt of the earth quality of the people around me and extraordinary kindness between strangers shaped my own values and attitude toward others. Growing up in madison taught me a great deal about compassion, patience, and hard work. Christina was an outstanding student. In high school she was a member of the National Honor society. Youve heard that over and over again. National honor society. And she also was elected Vice President of her class and manager of the track team. She also found time to volunteer. Love the way kids are so topnotch academically, participate in athletics and the rest, and in their spare time prekt the local camp for students, or the food bank, or whatever it is. Christina graduated with honors from miami david Community College and is a student at georgetown majoring in international law, institution, and ethics. She received the president s volunteer Service Awards two years in a row and is a walsh scholar. As a highwaya mom, highwaya wife and fwrore, i can tell you being a wash scholar at georgetown is a big deal. During her time at georgetown, she has interned in the u. S. House of representatives and piloted College Mentorship program at a local high school. In addition to this, she finds time to work two parttime jobs. How many hours do you have in a day, christina . Shes also dedicated two of her undergarage summers to volunteer as a teach for the miami and in san francisco. In both these positions she worked with highachieve, lowincome students providing support for their paths to college. You see, her dream is to be a teacher. Shell graduate from georgetown soon, shes been accepted to teach for america, a National Nonprofit organization that places talented recent graduates in urban and rural schools. Teach for america has 190 teachers who are daca dromers and are teaching our country across the country. In any event, christinas scheduled to start the program next summer but without without daca or the dream act, she a 190 other achers wl be forced to leave their tonights behind. Again, will america be stronger . I dont think. So jesus contreras. He was only 6 years old when he was brought here from mexico by his mother who sought safety from violence. He grew up in houston after graduating from high school as a top student, he obtained daca which allow him to attain his dream of becoming a paramedic. Today hes 22 years old, works as a paramedic in Montgomery County hospital district. In Hurricane Harvey, he worked six straight days, rescuing people from flood areas. People who needed dialysis or insulin, hi he took flood victims to will call hospitals, and afterwards would head home for a quick shower before volunteering at his local church to help with medical needs. He said this is my home, these are my people, i love my career, it gave me an opportunity to help people in ways i never imagined i could. Daca means everything to me. I would lose my license and certifications www. It. I would be sent back to a country i dont know and lose everything. Jesus and other dreamers have so much to contribute to our country but without daca he couldnt have worked to protect his community through Hurricane Harvey and could be deported back to mexico where he hasnt lived since he was 6 years old. Would america be stronger without him . I dont think. So we have another georgetowner here. Luis gonzalez. Luis gonds les, when he was years old, his family came to the yoits from mexico. He had difficult childhood in santa ana, california, after his parents separated and he lived with his mother in a car garage for several years. After his mother remarried, luis lived with an abusive stepfather bum luis overcame the circumstances to become an excellent student he graduated from high school in the top 1 of his class. Now thats a 1 we like to talk about. 4. 69 g. P. A. And he passed all nine advanced placement exams that he took. Luis is also involved in extracurricular and volunteer activities. He was secretary of the schools, here it is again, National Honor society chapter. He helped organize an Antibullying Campaign i a local Elementary School and created a Mentorship Program to help incoming freshmen at his high school. On saturday, instead of relax , he volunteered to tutor other students in math on saturdays, every saturday, and he volunteered to help a teacher at the local Elementary School. Hes also active in his church. Every sunday he translated the pastors sermon into english for those who didnt speak spanish and he cleaned up the church and before and after sunday service. Because of his outstanding record in high school, luis was admitted to georgetown university. He is currently a sophomore and is majoring in american studies and minoring in government. Luis continues to use his spare time, really, to give become to the community. Hes a member of the Provost Committee for diversity and cochair of the highwaya saxa weekend a program that brings state of the unions from underrepresented communities to visit georgetown. Luis is a leader of stride for college, a program that mentors students at local inner city high schools. Luis dream is to be a High School Teacher, not surprising given the strong commitment hes already shown to helping young people. Luis wrote in his letter, daca gave me the confidence and security i had not had before. I lived in fear and in the shadows. Thanks to daca i was able to do things i otherwise wouldnt be able to do, like traveling to an airport or working on a campus. Ive always felt that im an american but having daca allowed me to stop living in fear and uncertainty. Now those fears have come back again. Will america be stronger if we deport Luis Gonzalez or if he stays here and becomes a High School Teacher . I think the answer is obvious. On this subject of georgetown, english as a second language, teaching english, i mean, translating into englfor those who nt easpish, cleaned up the church bere and after sunday service, the thing about the church, this is interesting. I recently, ill read again right now, the united conference of chath lick bishops statement, i read from his holiness statement about immigrants when he was here, but i also mentioned dr. Sam rodriguez and other leaders an the evangelical community who have been so outspoken on protecting our dreamers. I know we all go to Church Services every week, i mean, thats what i hear. Where i go, i see i g a lot of different places because i travel around the country. And more and more around the country and in my own community in california, more and more of our pa riggsers are from philippines or from latin parishioners are from the philippines or latin america. So the future of the church by the way, one of the churches i go to in kale, our pastor was from nigeria, in my church in san francisco, one of our priests was from the philippines. The idea of parishioners being more diverse is also the clergy being more diverse. So when we talk about faith and building faith and strong faith in our country, recognize how fahlled so many of these familieare who come to our country and again our motto, in god we trust. Its wonderful to see their faith in god, their faith in america, their faith in the future, their faith in themselves, their faith in their families an their faith that gives them hope, the faith in the goodness of others, as i said, hope, sitting right there in between love and charity. So again, that spark of beginity that we all have, we have to act upon. Ok. Well talk about the about bonita. She was brought to the United States by her parents when she was 8. She graduated as valedictorian of her High School Class at the age of 16. She received a full scholarship to st. Marys university and graduated with honors, a double major in biology and sociology. Her honors thesis was on the dream act. She wrote, i cant i cant wait to be able to get back to the community thats given me so much. I was recently asked to sing the National Anthem for the United States and mexico at the cinco at the community celebration. I quickly belted out think stang spangled banner but then realized i didnt know the words to the mexican National Anthem. Im an american. Its time to pass the dream act. We had some photos. This is javier. He was only 4 years old, his family brought him to the United States from mexico he went to Elementary School in texas and then moved to california. He was an excellent student who was very involved in extracurricular and volunteer activities, member of the National Honor society and was Riverside County student of the month. He also received an award from the College Boards National Hispanic recognition program, fwitch to only 5,000 of the 250,000 students who take the test. He was a member of the math club and a drum major in the schools marching bound, volunteers in the towns soup kitchen for the homeless and received the president of the United States volunteer Service Award he didnt know he was undocumented until he was applying for college. Learned he was ineligible for federal Financial Assistance. Thanks to his academic achievements, javier was accepted at harvard university, is now a sophomore, majoring in couldnt Computer Science and is a member of the Harvard Computer Society and harvard marching band. Thanks to daca, javier is supporting himself by working as a a Web Developer he sent this letter. Daca doesnt give me an advantage, it gives me an opportunity to create my own future on the same grounds as other students. I would like to be judged about my qualities as a person than what papers i happen to have in my hand. I hope to be a computer pammer and begin earning my living as a contributing member of american society. Consider this, every year, thousands of foreign computer programs programmers come to the United States as temporary guest workers. It makes no sense to deport a homegrown talent like javier when American Companies are importing computer specialists. Javier and other dreamers have so much to contribute to our country. God bless you. S that story from terri sewell, thank you, terri sewell, for joining us. She bring this is story of a dreamer from alabama. Herrera. S fernanda i came to the u. S. When i was 2 1 2, grew up in gadsden, alabama, where i attended Gadsden City High School and played the flute in the band, serving as Section Leader for two years. I moved to birmingham in 2013 to attend Stanford University as an honors student majoring in international relations. I graduated this past may with thousands out in loans for my degree and hoping to attend law school. My parents and u. S. Born little brother live in ragland where they own a small mexican restaurant. Under my name since im the only person of age with a Social Security number. They own it under that. I recently had a car wreck that put me 40,000 further in debt. If daca is ten away, i wont able to work to y back my loan,000,000 hospital debt , my car payments and my debt from helping my parents with their restaurant. Without a clean dream act, my u. S. Citizen brother is forced to choose between having his sister or his parents live here. We do have we do have a picture here. How lovely. Thank you, terri sewell, and thank you for your extraordinary leadership from alabama about a dreamer. The dreamers are all over our country, mr. Speaker. They are a blessing so across the board. From the heartland of america, we have many from michigan, illinois, alabama. Of course, texas heartland as well. Its also a border state. When laura alvarred ao was years old her alvarado was 8 years old her family broughter to illinois. She was an excellent student and involved in many extra curricular and volunteer activity. She was a member of the National Honor society. The National Honor society. The resounding theme of all of this, a member of the National Honor society. She played soccer, tennis and basketball and was a member of the student government. The school newspaper, the chess club and yearbook club. Laura went to northwestern excuse me Northern Illinois university. In college she worked two jobs to pay for her college tuition. Keep in mind shes ineligible for federal Financial Assistance because of her immigration status. In 2016 laura graduated with honors with a major in justice studies. But then she was stuck. Laura wanted to become a lawyer but was unable to pursue this dream, mr. Speaker, because she was undocumented. Six years long years later in 2012, president obama established daca and lauras life changed. N 2013 laura received daca, enrolled in law school in Southern Illinois university. In law school laura won the moot court competition. How about that . And was selected for the order of the baresters of the honor sore site. After college laura received her law degree. Over the summer she passed her law exam and just last month laura received her illinois law license which shes proudly you see, laura never gave up on her dream of becoming a lawyer and thanks to daca and her hard work, this dream has become a reality. Now lauras planning a career in Public Interest law. She says, i would like to be of service to others. In her letter she says, daca has opened the door keep hearing that theme open the door, open the door. Let the speaker please open the door so we can have that debate here as Mitch Mcconnell has done in the senate. Laura writes, daca has opened the door to possibilities that were beyond my reach. Daca presents a better life and opportunity to achieve the American Dream. Daca has given me the freedom to live without fear. I now have the confidence to know that my hard work, dedication, achievements can be recognized. I will continue to work hard and lead by the example of what i can accomplish if given the opportunity. Laura and other democrats have so much to contribute to our country. Will america be a stronger country if we deport laura . I dont think so. This is from representative engel of new york. Ts one of his constituents. My name is diana. A constituent from yonkers, new york. I am a daca recipient whos currently in limbo not knowing what my future holds. I was able to obtain a drivers license and put myself through tech school where i have turned my e. P. A. License. I also obtained obtained my e. P. A. License. I also obtained incredible. E. K. G. Certification which certified me to work in the emergency room. If Congress Approves a path to citizenship i will be able to accomplish so much more to give back to my family and community. I love what im doing and i dont want to lose all that i have worked for. Thank you for taking the time to read my message. Diana. Another from congressman engel, constituent. My name is joseph from bronx, new york. I appliedor da in july after finding out from an i. C. E. Officer that i had 60 days to leave the country or face deportation. I am also about to lose my job because i have not received my new card. Daca is my only hope. Elizabeth again from eliot engel from yonkers. I am contacted you because i am submitting my initial daca application earlier in 2017 and completed my biometrics in april. I have yet to receive any other guidance. I humbly ask if theres any way you can help me out. I am absolutely heart broken and deep emotional strain because of everything thats going on at the moment with daca. I have two children, a fourth grade and sixth grade, and i will not be able to imagine a life without them. I arrived in the u. S. When i was 9 months old. I am now 28. Called i. C. E. And the only information they provided was the one on their website. I just asked this inquiry and said it wouldnt be possible. I just had to wait. Another one. Stephanie. Stephanie is a girlfriend of an unnamed dreamer in eliot engels district. I write to you today about daca. My boyfriend is a daca recipient. He is a building engineer. He is a high school graduatend and has an associate degree. He pays taxes. He reaps none of the benefits available t citizens. In terms of well fair, Social Security, etc. Hes a good person from a good family. Im terrified that congress will not be able to come to an agreement over daca and his safety will hang in the balance. That he could be sent back to a country he barely knows. I understand youre against this decision to end daca but i beg you, please do not let party lines and bargaining chips to get in the way of this. Do what is necessary. This has been a horrible day and in six months it could get much worse. Thank you, eliot engel, for giving us those stories from your district. This is from barbara. In 2002 when barbara was 5 years old her family brought her to the United States from mexico. Barbara grew up in phoenix, arizona and she knew she would face challenges because she was a dreamer. Her older sister had been accepted to an outofState University but could not afford to attend. , an undocumented immigrant she is not eligible for federal Financial Assistance, and arizona law prohibits state Financial Assistance to barbara and dreamers. Her mentor said as a dreamer, quote, you are going to have to try harder than everyone else. She said those words confirmed what i had known all along. Although i was only starting high school, i began to dread what most students anticipate with excitement, graduation day. What if got into my dream school couldnt go because i couldnt afford it . In high school barbara was an excellent student and was involved in many extra curricular and volunteer activities. She was a member of the Academic Decathlon Team for four years and was a team cap dane during her senior year. She was a member of the student government, yearbook club, homecoming court. She volunteered to tutor middle School Students and work part time to save money for her education. Barbara also participated in a number of programs at Arizona State university, including the Walter Cronkite journalism institute. Wow. She recorded a story about her life and was aired around the country on National Public radio. This experience brought her interest into journalism and led to an internship at kjzz, the phoenix affiliate of National Public radio. Last year barbara graduated as valedictorian of her high school with a 4. 5 g. P. A. , as a result of her accomplishments barbara was accepted to dartmouth college, an ivey colleague school, where she is now a sophomore. Reat ivey colleague great ivy league school. Just like thousands of others, an undocumented student, i have grown and become accustomed to the culture here. The u. S. Is where i belong. I want to become a contributing member of society as i have proven in my 13 years. As we know, barbara and dreamers have so much to contribute to our couny. We have a little boy here. With a 5yearold boy his family brought him to the United States from mexico. He grew up on the north side of chicago. We have a lot of chicago, a lot of new jersey here. He was a bright child but when he learned he was undocumented his life took a downturn. He was failing classes and dropped out of high school for six months. He wrote, i felt that because of my status i had no future. As a result, my grades and attendance plummeted and i struggled to do anything productive. Then in 2012 president obama announced daca and everything changed for him. Heres how he explained. It meant i have a future worth fighting for. I went back to school and reignited my passion for studying. I want to do whatever i can to contribute to my country. Senior year in high school he improved his grades, head of the School Fundraising committee and volunteered with the mentoring program. He also worked full time to support himself and his family. Hes a sophomore year at the university of illinois in chicago. Double major in psychology and Political Science. A perfect 4. 5 grade point average. Involved with student vernment, other recreational clb of psychling. He delivers food to the homels shelr. He mentors middle School Students. Part time Security Guard at local events. Dreams of working in chicago city government. He gives hope to people who need it to turn their lives around. Now he wants to give back to the city and country he loves. I do note i have an opportunity here from the Vice President do we have to have the vote here first before members can go what is the excuse me a vote will occur soon after i yield back. I had no intention of yielding back, mr. Speaker. I have a lot more do we know if there is any possibility of a special order later . We asked about three hours ago. For other members to rticipate because the speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is free to consult with leadership on that issue. Ms. Pelosi thats what we asked earlier and we made that overture and we asked mr. Hoyer. We have been joined by congresswoman judy chu who, as i mentioned earlier, chair of the congressional Asian Pacific american caucus and leader fighting for family, fairness and family reunification in our immigration discussions. Congresswoman nita lowey, Ranking Member on appropriations and really central to the discussions that its about, about the appropriations bill that will come back from the senate. It will come back from the senate with a promise from their leader Mitch Mcconnell that we would that we would that they in the Senate Dreamers a vote on a bill to be debated. The chips will fall where they may. We are simply asking the speaker for the same opportunity. So thank you, mrs. Lowey, for your leadership. Congresswoman roybalallard, as i mentioned, was the orblingorge i called her the godmother of the dream act. She joined with senator durbin in advancing it in 2001. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, part of our Communications Group on this and other subjects. Thank you, hakeem of new york. Congressman gonzalez of texas who knows firsthand at the border the challenges that we face. Congressman joe kennedy of massachusetts. Again, strong supporter. Giving his response to the president. I mentioned adam schiff about his being involved in our discussions in our earlier meetings today on the subject. And congresswoman hanabusa of hawaii, of course, very involved in this issue, as you would suspect. I thank so many of our colleagues for joining here on the floor. I dont know if they have i have so many more but i didnt these they had any are from my colleagues. This is my stack. These are from my colleagues so ill go to those. M congresswoman lowe e congresswoman lowey. This is a let from a dreamer to congresswoman nita lowey. I want to thank you for your support of daca. I know you will help not deport 800,000 dreamers. Having come from el salvador from 15 years old, i attended school in new york and now make my home with my wife in pearl river. Life in ell salazar dore was dangerous and brutal which is why my father moved us to america in 2005. I am grateful every day for all the opportunities presented to me here. Im currently working as a Technology Specialist at apple. Its so important to continue achieving and setting goals and giving back to my community it would break my life to lose my ome in new york. My status expires in november. What will my future be . Im reaching out to you to ask to meet with you and discuss it. My employers offer support and legal assistance. As i said earlier, our Business Community has been superlative in all this. This is from Hugo Alexander acrossa mazanago. My name is leti. I am now 22. I graduated from cal poly. I have always known i was undocumented because i remember the first day of Elemetary School and how kids pointed out my brown skin too much. Told you my story about that before. I know my parents moving to the states was extremely horrifying, leaving everything behind was difficult but it makes me feel better knowing my future here is brighter than the one i could have in mexico. Regardless not having enough food on the table, not having help on my home work, not having any resources to go to college i managed and got accepted to college and moved away, hours away from home with the purpose of bettering myself and my family. This really is the American Dream story over and over again. She referenced when daca was created. Had stability, if only temporarily in america, only country she knows. By repealing daca, her hopes ere and aspirations were forced to another place and i do not have any clear memories in mexico. I do not know anyone in mexico. My entire life is in the United States. Heres where i have made my life for myself taken away from me as taking away from me is inhumane. The nation is the only one i love. The only one i belong to. Graciela nunez. A 20yearold student from washington who works at a humanitarian law firm. Driven person. Has big ambitions to the future. Daca recipient who was born in venezuela. When she was 7 years old her parents told her she was visiting to disney world in vacation. She got off the plane. She realized she was not going back to venezuela. They were fleeing the chavez regime and the ithe United States to stay. Th is the only country she knows. Shes like 1. 8 million other dreamers in this country. She has built her life here. Shes as america as it gets. A piece of paper could not negate her participation. All of the things that make this country great. Graciela feels little connection to venezuela. She doesnt know how many president s that country has had. Shes unfamiliar with the geography but shes got five in a. P. U. S. History and can talk about the details of this country. In her words, shes been living under constant hyten stress since the because of the stress since this. Daca gives them upward social mobility and allows dreamers to do exactly what their name implies, dream for beater life and not let paper limit potential. So Jimmy Panetta has sent us a tory from kathryn from salinas. I mentioned jimmy in trying to find a bipartisan solution. She says im grateful for all the things this country has done for me but i think its not i think its important for you to see what ive done and for you to see everything ive accomplished with high g. P. A. s, amazing people that are Daca Recipients have done great things. The process you have to go through and strictness you have to obtain daca is hard. You have just little detail on your record and you are out. Were some of americas best. I want you to know while taking away from us, dont you want people with degrees, cool internships . Our parents are here as iginal dreamers. Please be able to see that for yoursel this is the same thing about parents. Id we do graciela. Mr. Hoyers, did we do mr. Hoyers already . Ivy tenley, a chinese immigrant, the youngest of three, became the second to graduate college in her family from baruke college. Today she continues to devote er free time to underserved. She is a gets so much of her free time to empowering underserved communities. Her story is just what this country needs. Thank you, mr. Hoyer, for referring her to us. Ung bin cho, his family came here, they enrolled in first grade in virginia, he garage waited from virginia tech. Again,s the only home i know. Ive work and saved to pay for college. Where i live you need a car for anywhere. Now because of daca i can drive my family, drive to study. All these are personal stories about the struggles, the obstacle, the optimism, determination and hope that all of these people have and isnt that what america is about . America is about optimism and hope. Representativeom eddie, she had another testimony earlier. Elizabeth esty has been a champion on this issue, she sends this testimony. I came to connecticut, i was undocumented, so i could face a tougher test for college but made the decision to keep fighting. I was able to graduate top 5 of think class my class, got a scholarship to Western Connecticut State University with a degree in biology. I cofounded an organization to work fer rights of undocumented students. I was able to buy a car and get a drivers license. I spent eight months in the hospital but due to daca i was able to get a job that offered Health Insurance with a national organation united we dream. Nowy daca expires in march, 2019, and with it, i will leave the insurance i need to live. These stories go on and on. I think really the point is that these young people have accomplished things that i think many of us would not have been able to accomplish. Perhaps some. I give everyone credit for obstacles they have overcome. But if you have all of the obstacles of economic disadvantage, plus being undocumented, uncertainty in your family and all the emotional unrest that causes, and to see them, National Honor society, top 1 , top 10 , top 5 of their classes, giving back, volunteering, over and over again in their communities. These are the best of the best. They are so fabulous. And again, their parents were so courageous. They had a dream for their children and some of these children are now reflecting that theyre living their parents dream for them and thats what america has always been about. Mr. Speaker, i have plenty more stories to tell, some of them submit by our colleagues. But i know that theres supposed to be a vote sometime soon, is that correct . Or can we just go on . Whats the mr. Speaker, may i ask what the order of things is here . Do i have time to go on and on or is there a vote being called or what . The speaker pro tempore the house is currently considering h. R. 1153. The house is currently considering h. R. 1153. Ms. Pelosi i understand but ok. Solano, he was at the state of the union, a guest of representative blumenauer he grew up in one of the Farmworker Development corporations in oregon. At 15 he started volunteering at h. D. C. s after School Program nd later volunteered, creating his pathway for social equity he became a daca recipient. His extensive experience with communitybased organizer in the farm workers rights, Youth Employment and education. He certainly calls as serves as director for the oregon Latino Coalition where hes part of the team that helps pass state legislation that extends Health Coverage to undocumented children. God bless you for that, aldo. Weve been joined by congressman Eric Swalwell of california. We thank him for his leadership on this very important issue. Working with the future forum. Visiting with dreamers all over the country. The then also Keith Ellison joined us, who has, i referenced earlier, his testimony from his stite from minnesota. As well. Hoyer. Again from mr. From chera testimony patel, 23 years hes lived here. Hes from durarat . We tried to resolve our status however due to incorrect file big a notary, our immigration lawyer said theres no way for us to get it right unless the law changes in congress. This is again, i wont read the whole statement but i would just say, over the years, their family paid built a life here, giving back to the only country my we know as home. My parents paid income tax, prtytad business tax. I was the rsin my family to gradte pr colle. Daca was a consequential day for me. The decision to rescind daca was a punch in the gut. I felt the floor disappear under my feet. After 2 year, my life may be destroyed overnight. I continue to raise awareness on this issue by sharing our stories. Thank you for asking our family, friends and neighbors to continue pushing congress, in return we hope that congress can deliver. Mr. Hoyer submitted that, thank you so much. Jose of mr. Swalwells testimony is from jose of heyward, california. He came to the United States as a child from mexico he only pledged allegiance to the United States of america. Hes headed to college soon and wants to be a police officer. In the only country he has called home. Thank you, mr. Swalwell for bringing that to our attention. Anettas story is from ee la in in as we have heard. Valentina heard from garcia gonzalez. She was only 6 when her family brought her to the United States from uruguay. She was a bright child, learned english after a few months. She said after that she ecame her parents right hand. Everything about speaking to the outside world meant i was in the front. It was a lot of responsibility for a young, undocumented kid. In addition, she says, in addition to this responsibility she was an excellent student. She received the president s Education Award twice, once from president bush, once from president obama. In hollywood he was she was an honors graduate, advanced placement, leading of student leader of student government. Somehow she found time to be the president of the schools Environmental Group and noferinge varsity basketball team. They have so many hours in the day, these dreamers. Student accomplished rules prevent her from attending state colleges. She aflide dartmouth and is a sophomore there. She still finds time to volunteer and mentor children. In her letter she wrote, im beyond grateful, because of receive daling ka, the United States has given me an opportunity to give back to a country thats given so much to me. Ive worked hard to prove myself worthy in the eyes of my american counterparts. Knowing im in a weird limbo in regards to my legal status doesnt make me sleep any easier. My name is registered with the government, i might b deported if thed ca. It one so sadf she was deported back to uruguay, a country where she hasnt lived since he was 6 years old. I dont think our country would be stronger for that oscar was 6 years old when he came to the United States from mexico. Grew up in park city a small northern suburb of chicago. Became an excellent student. He was a member of the National Honor society and an Illinois State scholar. He received several advanced placement awards, graduated mag in cum laudee he said my parents a desire tilled in me of for excellence. I dedicate myself to honor the sacrifices of my family. He was admitted to dartmouth, first member of his family to attend college. He excelled, in his his freshman year restheaved william st. Churchill please for outstanding academic achievement. Absolutely fabulous. Thank you, thank you for submitting oscars story. He, again, hes when i says, when i received daca, i thought i could achieve my dreams. Its allowed me to work for the first time, the money i earn fwes to support my education and family. Valuable asset. Let me just reach out a little bit, mr. Speaker, and that is because some of the members coming in are new, read the where did it go . The a. M. A. Document. My colleagues, some of you heard this before, but so many of our daca so many of our dreamers are interested in becoming doctors and health professionals, health care professionals, whether researchers, nurses, other health care professionals. But i just want to read once again this statement from the association of american medical colleges. The association of american medical colleges reports that the nations doctor shortage will rise between 40,000 and 105,000 by the year 2030. Both the American Medical Association and association of american medical colleges warn that the ending daca will exacerbate this physician shortage in the United States. And they have urged congress to pass legislation to protect dreamers. Listen to what the a. M. A. Said. Estimates have shown that the daca initiative could help introduce 5,400 previously ineligible physicians into the u. S. Health care system in the coming decade to address physician shortages and ensure Patient Access to care. Removing those with daca status will particularly create care shortages for rural and other underserved areas. Without these physicians, the a. M. A. Is concerned that the quality of care provided in these communities will negatively impact and that patient care to access to care will suffer. Thats a quote from the theyre saying it could be as many as 40,000 to over double that number by 2030, and 5,400 previously ineligible physicians come to us by making daca by passing protection for our dreamers. 5,400 previously ineligible physicians. Thats quite remarkable. When you see the need and see the ambition and vocation and dedication, especially to help in underserved areas is quite remarkable. T to talk to you about this is another of senator durbins that he wanted to introduce to the senate, a dreamer from speaker ryans home state of wisconsin. Marciella aguilar. When she was 3 years old her mother brought her to the United States. Her family settled in milwaukee. She worked hard and she excelled in school. During high school, she was on the honors roll and member of the National Honor society. We keep hearing that over and over again. Captain of the crosscountry team. At the same time she was active in her community, volunteering at a local homeless shelter. When it came time to apply for colleges, marciella knew she wanted to stay close to family and the only home shes ever known, wisconsin. She applied to many local schools and offered a full scholarship at marquette college. She was a double major in Political Science and english literature. She also worked part time as a waitress to support her and her family. She became involved in advocating for immigration reform. In december, 2010, marciela was here in the senate gal hely when the Senate Gallery when the senate failed to pass the dream act. I remind that was when we passed it in just before we passed it in the house. It got over 50 votes in the senate but did not get the 60 votes. Then she came to raise concerns about the dreamers, again and again. She graduated with honors in her graduating class. Shes now at graduate school at brand eyes university. She was brandise university. She and other dreamers have so much to contribute to our country. Could we use more public School Teachers like marciela . I think so. Would it be a stronger country would we be if we deported her . I dont think so. Ok. Another one from mr. Durbin. Naomi. Her parents brought her to the United States from mexico when she was 10 years old. Omi grew up in a town in tennessee. Excellent student. Member of the National Honor society and she received student of the year award for algentleman bra and art. Served algebra and art. Served on the track and field team. Also a discus throw. Naomis dream was to become a robotics engineer. E participated in the nasa interspace academy. She won the next generation pioneer award. Graduated high school with honors but her immigration status limited her. She didnt give up. She took Mechanical Engineering courses at Lipscomb University in nashville. In the spring shes graduating with an Associates Degree in a field that combines Mechanical Engineering, control engineering, Computer Engineering. Could you do that . Could any of us do that . Naomi is working on her bachelors degree at middle tennessee university. In the spare time shes doing all kinds of wonderful things. She says dacas made the opportunity of a lifetime from an academic and professional career. As students in high school, driving past a nissan plant, motivated me to be a better student. However, without paper proper work authorization, that goal seems farfetched. Today is a ult reality. Hopefully we can continue to make that a better reality for naomi flointino. Submit her statement for the record. Florintino. Submit her statement for the ecord. We certainly have the work to do. See ys, if you want to biden. Well, i was trying to excuse my colleagues. They all have been such champions on this issue and their dedication to it is demonstrated here. As some that cant be with us right now. This is another story that is about a dreamer and i want to tell the story of how daca has given one dreama the chance to ontribute to the country she loves. This is maria. Her parents brought her to the United States from mexico at 9 years old. She is an excellent student who is dedicated to community service. In high school she was a member of the National Honor society. You keep hearing that, mr. Speaker. You havent been here all day but all day you have been hearing members of the National Honor society, key club. Tutored middle School Students. Performed over 300 hours of community service. She graduated with 3. 97 g. F. Pmplet a. , admitted to the university of michigan. But wason g. P. A. , admitted to the university of michigan. She entered to the university of detroitmercy, a private catholic school. Elected Vice President of the student senate. Helped find the campus kitchen to take leftover meals to the homeless. Not to the homeless, only, but other people who have a hard time leaving home and needed meals to be brought to them. She participated in every kind of helping elderly couples. Homeless people, etc. Graduated valedictorian of her class. Her options were limited because of her immigration status. When she got daca she wrote, daca means showing the rest of the country, society and my community what i can do. Ive also known im capable of but daca allowed me to show others that the investment and opportunity daca provides is worth it. Many dreamers like her have so much to contribute to our country. Will america be a stronger country if we send maria away . No. I dont think so. I think you would agree. Ok. Juan vargas from california. I acknowledged him earlier. Congressman juan vargas, first congressional district, would like me to read a statement from a former intern, dreamer. There is jacqueline he is. Thank you for doing this. Ms. Pelosi my name is jacqueline. I was brought to the United States at age 2. Now you know, age 2. I was raised in san diego and never felt different from anyone else. I speak the language and know the culture. I knew i had no papers but never really knew what that meant. I didnt realize the importance of those documents until i wanted to go to college. I always knew i wanted to move forward with my education. I was avid student in high school and always encouraged to apply to universities because i had the grades to compete. Then, my parents told me that it wasnt a possibility. I realized i was different. I would always ask myself, why me . But when daca was announced in 2012, it gave me relief. Im proud to call myself a dreamer jacqueline says i am proud to call myself a dreamer. Daca gave me hope, opportunity, motivation and that wont be taken away. My name is jacqueline and dreamers are americans too. Thank you. Another one from Keith Ellison from minnesota. Did i say it correctly . He was just here. One came to the United States when she was only 15 years old. Despit initial language difficulties, she worked hard and graduated from high school withons. She completed one semester of college after high school but economic difficulties forced her to work focus on work instead. However, when she graduated when she was granted daca in 2012, she got a better paying job and was able to go back to college and graduated with honors. The last two years she has been working for the state of minnesota as a senior court clerk. She bought a house and supports her family. The week before daca was terminated, she applied for a job as a probation officer. Her dream job, a probation officer. But the elimination of daca now makes that goal appear impossible. She was planning to start a masters degree in criminal justice just next semester. That, too, now seems impossible. She said i dont want to go back to dreaming of a Better Future. I want to be part of a Better Future for me, for my family, and for my country. Again and again, for our country. Thank you, mr. Ellison. And thank you, isel. From congresswoman matsui of california, whom i acknowledged earlier, an unnamed dreamer , om her district says september, 1990, my life would change forever. This is her story. My family and i migrated to the uted states. The first six years of my life pales in comparison to what i have been introduced to within a few months of living in the u. S. All i do know is that my clear joyful memories started when we moved to america. I was living in the best country in the world, a place i would call my home and yet i didnt even know it. Fast forward 27 years later and today my family sits here in deportation proceedings, given 45 days to pack up their lives and leave. The past few weeks have been the most painful, fearful, helpless and hopeless days of my life. My parents and sisters are being deported. I most likely have a few months left before i will be deported as well. I am considered a dreamer, probably one of the oldest dreamers in the United States had my older sister have been eligible, she would have been the oldest of our dreamers. However, i was the only one of the three to be granted protection with daca. And now my family has been ordered to leave the united ates with a 10year ban on reentry. With a 10year ban on reentry. Youre probably familiar with this, mr. Speaker. This 10year ban is just deadly. I cant separate from my family and have them do this on their own. My family are only are one cohesive unit. Families always stick together. Its what we believe in. So if theres no choice but to go with my family to help each other reconstruct we built over 27 years at this point i dont know what to do. What am i supposed to do . We have exhausted all of our options and failures at each end. All i can do is leave it in gods hands, pray for strength and guidance and hope my prayers are heard with a miracle. I understand there are those who commit horrible crimes and shouldnt be allowed to stay. However us as a family didnt do anything to harm the community. We went to school, got good jobs, helped others and are great samaritans. We pay our taxes, strive to better ourselves and our country nd the community we live in. As for my family, she goes on to say, no matter the distance, no matter the 10year ban, no matter what, our heart and spirit will always be here in the United States, the place i call home. I spent the majority of my life here and its shaped me into the woman i am now. Another story from the congressman. These people are being deported. And thats why we need to have comprehensive immigration reform, to address the bigger issue. But we can do something today to at least make whole the children. This is another one. Sacramento state graduate that congresswoman matsui submitted to us. She said that daca gave him peace of mind he currently holds a masters degree and plans to pursue a doctoral degree. He wants to work in the field of education and is worried that the president s decision to rescind daca will lead to less people becoming teachers. Hep also said he believes theres something good in all of and deserves to continue to fulfill his dreams. Gustavo, came to the United States at the age of 7 with his brothers and parents. Ehe said im happy to say my parents courage and willingness to risk it all for their childrens future was worth it he graduated with a botch batchelors in psychology and a minor in counseling and would like to pursue a masters degree he said, we as dreamers are here to build a better cycle, to help build bridges amongst society and be better educated individuals with a hunger for striving for a better tomorrow. Another from congresswoman matsui. Jesus is a dreamer and daca recipient who was brought to this country by his mother at the age of 8. He is also a fulltime english professor at Sacramento City college and parttime lecturer at sac State University he said im honored to have the opportunity to teach the youth of my community, to empower the reenry students and hem improve the culture of local campuses that gave me an education. Juana says, daca allowed me to feel accepted and acknowledged in this country we grew up in and love. My daca status is providing me the opportunity to pursue my dreams like many other people. Thanks to daca i was able to work and go to school and i just recently graduated this spring with my b. A. In sociology. I graduated from high school in 2000 and had to put my dreams to e because i was not able pursue my education. It would be horrible if my status were rescinded. Ive been in the u. S. For 27 years. Ive never left america. I was born in mexico. I have no clue what its like. The only place i know is california. This is my home and all that i know and love. From rep lofgren who i mentioned earlier has been such a champion on the Judiciary Committee on this, a former chair of the subcommittee, taught immigration law, shes been an immigration lawyer, she knows it all. Shes just been a tremendous leader and very dedicated advocate and champion. Ms. Mandy ts this, lau. I want to take a moment to express my disappointment in the repeal of dada. As an educator i have seen how daca improved the lives of students and families here in the u. S. A. Daca has been a resounding success and this administration should not end this crucial program. Nearly 800,000 young men and women have been able to contribute to their communities, to work, go to school, live their lives without fear of being rip aid way from their families and the country they consider home. Recently, ms. Lau, mandy that is, went on to say, i held a crying student who was disheartened that although she worked hard to maintain her 4. 0 g. P. A. Throughout high school, fought stir y types of gang affiliation and resisted negative influences to create better opportunities for herself and her family, there would also be a possibility that her dream of attending college would no longer be an option. She asked me how this is possible in the land of the free . How quickly an opportunity could be stripped from a person with ambitions, hopes and dreams. Daca has given those young adults a lifeline and hope for the future. Ending this program one devastating for dreamers and their families. Without daca, these 800,000 dreamers would be subject to deportation to countries they may not even remember and are no longer able to work legally to in theemselves and place i call home, mandy says. I have spent the majority of my life here, its shaped me. So thank you very much. It is these are beautiful, beautiful statements from some of these from these daca from our dreamers. Dasca recipients. But theyre our dreamers and its even beyond those who are recipients. Magdaleno, john and nelson, his brother. Let me tell you about nelson and john. They came to the United States from israel when nelson was 11 and john was 9. Theyre both honor students at lakeside in atlanta, georgia. Heres a picture of nelson. John served in the air force junior officer reserve. Union commander. Honor society. Theres a picture of john in his rotc uniform. They went on to become honor students at university of georgia. In 2012, graduated from georgia tech with honors. Graduating with honors from georgia tech in Computer Engineering and john in Biomedical Engineering major from georgia tech, they have 3. 6 theyve 4. 0 g. P. A. , been work as computer engineers. Genre seved daca in 2012 while still a student at georgia tech and worked for two years as a researcher at a Biomedical Engineering. In 2014, john graduated georgia tech with major in chemical and biological engineering with highest honors. In chemical and biological engineering from georgia tech. Hes now working as a process engineer with a fortune 500 company too. Both have written letters, nelson wrote to me, daca means an opportunity to be able to live my dreams and contribute to society in ways i could not have imagined. Daca means one of my life goals, owning my own company could be a possibility in the future. Daca means a chance, daca means the American Dream. John wrote, i consider an american to be someone who loves and whole heartedly dedicates thems to the development of this country. From age 9, i have made the United States my home and it has made me the man i am. Proudly call myself american. S i read some of these story you hear a recurring theme. Again, a theme about honoring the vows of our founders for a new order for the ages, every generation would take responsibility to make the future better for future generations. Thats exactly what these the families of these dreamers did. Family members took risks, had courage, hope, optimism, courage did i sy courage twice . And determination to make the futu better for their families. And that doing that for their families, they were doing that for america too. You see such a similarity to previous generations. I see it as an italian american. Education, education, education. Key toup ward mobility. Talent, talent, talent. But not underutilized. Educated to reach its full potential to reach the aspirations of these young people. And to do so in a way that is about giving back, giving back. This what you see here is what our families were all about that had come before. s idealism that hopes, dromes, optimism and optimism of immigrants coming to our country. Thats why i say were a great country because were constantly reinvigorated by immigrants coming to our country. Their commitment and courage and commitment to the American Dream which drew them here in the first place strengthened the American Dream. As newcomers with all of that hope and aspiration they make america more american when they come here and thats why our country will not stagnate. Thats why our country will continue to blossom, respect our traditions, our past, our sense of community. And in every one of these letters, theres gratitude. Back to the United States. For what it has done for these people. There is no sense of entitlement. Its all about working hard and paying back. And thats why if we can justo this piece that would this piece which has urgency to it because it has a timetable that the president has put forth, thats doing this just doing this piece would be the smart thing to do. Find a solution that then builds trust in a bipartisan way with transparency and openness as to what it actually is about, thats why we want people to know this is who these people are that were trying to this is why theyre called dreamers. Thats why the name persists. Weve been the country of the American Dream forever. Yes, i agree with the president. Were all dreamers in america. Were all dreamers. Nd this is the future, part of the future, of course, i think of my grandchildren as the future. They didnt have to face the struggle. They dont have to face the struggles that these young people are facing and you know, god bless them for their courage to make the struggle. But again, faith. Family. Faith in the future, faith in america. Faith in themselves. Faith. Which gives people hope, hope because they have faith in the kindness of others. Faith, hope, charity, hope, right there in the middle. I think that people have hope, much of it springs from their faith. And these clearly are people of great faith. Thats why the catholic conference of bishops welcomes them. Thats why the evangelical Community Speaks to clearly and passionately about the need to protect them. These are precious gems. They are theyre absolutely outstanding. And they write their stories so eloquently, nothing that any of us could say about the subject is to even compare to the power of their stories. For example, johanna was brought up in the United States, from venezuela, when she was a child. She grew up in boulder, colorado. She played in her High School Softball team. Plays the viola in the orchestra and dreamed of becoming a. Heres what johanna said about ood. Childh that town, those beautiful mountains, its truly my home. In 2011 she graduated from the university of colorado at ulder with a double major in molecular, cellular biology and a psychology. Really . So talented. After graduating from college she was unable to pursue her eam of becomina doctor because she was undocumente en in 2012, with daca, she heard Loyola University of hicago accepts those with daca to their medical school. Linois faces a shortage of physicians. Loyola university daca program sees this as an opportunity to address the problem the stite of yale has created a daca program, so loyola dacaed me students can receive loans to help cover the cost of their medical education and for every year of loans, the daca student must work a year in a medically underserved area in illinois. Again, giving back. Thats fall, johanna began med school at loyola. After graduating shell serve parts of illinois that have a shortage of doctors. This is one of senators dur senator durbins constituents. Heres what johanna had to say. When the year 2000 came along, my dreams of becoming a doctor became a possibility again. Im able to apply for medical internship programs and apply to medical school buzz of my daca status. Its defined my path. It has relit a fire within to succeed and to continue to pursue my dream. Will america be a stronger country if we deport johanna . I dont think so. This is alvarado arias. He was brought to the United States from mexico in 1997 when he was 7 years old. He grew up in costa mesa, california, was an excellent student he dreamed of becoming a doctor. A doctor again. It was not until he applied to college that he learned he was undocumented. He was accepted at the university of californiariverside, because of his immigration status, however , he tnt qualify for federal assistance he met with a counselor who told him he had no chance of becoming a doctor because he was undocumented. But he didnt give up on his dream. 212, he graduated from the university of California Riverside with a chemistry major and research honors. Shortly after he graduated daca started. He served as a year as a mentor for at risk youth in his home city of costa mesa. He worked as a Health Educator at several clinics. He gave classes to hundreds of people in both english and spanish from topics ranging fromutriti and diabetes. During his year as a health educato he applied and accepted in medical school. Here we are. First year at Loyola University, Chicago School of medicine. In his free time he volunteers at the local clinic. He takes time to teach medical spanish to some of his classmates, and heres what he had to say about daca. Daca changed my life. It opened the door to the future ahead of me. If it werent for daca i would not be here. I probably would not have pursued medicine. I am blessed to have the opportunity to do what i love to do and give back to the community thats giving me so much. Will america be a stronger alvarado we deport arias and others like him . Of course not. From congresswoman die degette who is with us Diana Degette who is with us from colorado. Marco was born in mexico and moved to denvers globeville neighborhood at the age of 3. After attending Thornton High School as a student in the International Back Laureate Program he attended at the university of coloradoboulder and graduated as student body president with a degree in finance. During his time at Colorado University he received daca which allow him to contribute back to his community. Currently maro is Program Coordinator for the Latino Leadership Institute at the university of denver. Beautiful story. Once again, demonstrating not only a commitment to education, commitment to give back, become doctors, whatever, but leadership. Every one of these has leadership. Whether its leadership in the student government. Leadership in community. Leadership on the sports field. Leadership in every possible way. Extra curricular activities and the rest and certainly marco has demonstrated that treat, typical of our dreamers. And from brad sherman i dont know if brad is here but we have been joined by ted lieu and lifornia and ro khanna ms. Bordallo. Colleen we mentioned as well. I think we acknowledged. So many members have come and gone. Al green, gene green. Thank you, all, for your ongoing support of our dreamers. This is from brad sherman. Unknown dreamer from brad sherman. And it says, im writing this letter to you because im fearful what might happen next. Im a canadian who was brought here when i was 11 years old. Im 28 now and daca has allowed me to come out of the shadows. You hear that expression over and over. Come out of the shadows. Ive worked hard my whole life. Im a senior at ucla majoring in civil engineering. Im an Engineering Intern in the city of stanton. I also work at an animal Emergency Hospital on weekends. I often go weeks where i do not have a day off. I love this recurring animal assistance, too, that we hear. All i ask for is a fair shake with this new administration. I fear wont be given that. Im not a criminal. I am not a danger to my community nor am i someone trying to take advantage of benefits. I am a victim to the situation i had no say over. I want to pay my share, pay axes, inspire hours others. Thank you for your time and for listening. Thank you, brad, forsubmitng this enthusiastic statement from an unknown dreamer from you district. A canadian. Ere from canada. This is from ted lieu. Thank you, mr. Lieu, for being here. To ted lieu, a testimonial from representative lous district. My name is lieus district. My name is nicole and i go to ucla. My parents brought me to the United States when i was 3 years old. For the past 16 years i grew up like any other u. S. Citizen. I finished my k12 schooling and volunteered around my community. For my first year of college i was fortunate enough to receive a substantial amount of Financial Aid from both ucla california dream act. This aid alleviated my parents from the fiscal burden of paying for college. Although my tuition was covered my parents still had to pay out of pocket to cover the expense of living on campus. The scholarship money i received for my sophomore year was steadily decreased which means there was more pressure on my parents to keep up with the growing cost. To lighten this load, i acquired a fulltime summer job. I had become dependent on my job and paycheck to pay my school. But i remain debtfree if daca is rescinded . Minating daca will turn my world upside down. It will undo the progress i made at ucla and challenge my access to higher education. Nicole goes on to say although i am grateful for the opportunities i was given under daca like a Social Security number and relief from deportation, i cannot reconcile that the very government i one day hope to work for continues to exclude me from living the American Dream. The president and u. S. Legislators need to look beyond their biases and stand up for the children who have continuously pledged allegiance to the only country they have ever called home. Thank you, ted lieu, for icoles beautiful story. Mr. Lieu also submitted testimony from martin. Martin says, mr. Speaker, my name is martin and i grew up in an undocumented household. When i was in grade school, i loved listening to the news with my father. It became a daily routine to tune in to Univision Television after both of our days of work. It was extremely difficult for me to comprehend many issues discussed on mainstream news mainly because i didnt really understand the content. However, one particular word was mentioned almost every day deportation. Id ask my father what it meant but he refused to answer and so did my mother. After hearing the cold hard truth from my teacher in grade school grade school, now, i felt vulnerable for the first time in my life. As i grew older i became more and more concerned. I walked to School Every Day worried that my parents might expectedly unexpectedly be taken away from me. How many times have we heard that story . The two hardworking parents that had lived and contributed to this country for more than 30 years might be forcibly removed from the United States. Now i have never felt fearful for the future of my family. That word fear is really its terrifying. Tears in the eyes of the statue of liberty. Fear in the hearts of people that should be able to just make their contribution to our country. Hakeem jeffries once again, hakeem was here. Hakeem jeffries submits this testimony from michelle. Let me just once again say to my colleagues, thank you for being here. I wish you could be reading these stories. I feel very privileged to be reading so many of them, but the rules are that i cannot yield on the special one minute. Michelle, her story. I came to the United States from st. Louisia in the caribbean at the age of 7 lucia in the caribbean at the age of 7. I go to college and pay for out of pocket because i am not eligible for certain types of aid. I am studying Political Studies and i want to apply my studies to help people. I try to be involved in the community which is why i interned in mr. Jeffries office and i thank you Hakeem Jeffries for this testimony. I felt he had a connection with the people and i wanted to know how i could give back in that regard. I dont want to be fearful of not graduating or leaving school because daca ends. Fixing daca is important to me because i would not have been able to work if it werent for daca. Because i have a working permit, im able to pay for school and be exposed to more things in the u. S. You know, ive been here since a very young age so i dont know very much about st. Lucia. I grew up in brooklyn. I know more about brooklyn and i want to stay here. I know thats music to the ears of Hakeem Jeffries who is always bragging about brooklyn. By the way, so is the emocratic leader in the senate , mr. Schumer is always singing the praises of brooklyn. This is from mr. Durbin. This is pablo desilva. Pablo was brought to the United States from brazil in 2001 when he was 13 years old. He grew up in new jersey. Here we are again, new jersey. Heres what pablo has to say about his childhood. The same as every other kid growing up in the u. S. , i attended middle school, pledged allegiance to the American Flag and sang the National Anthem. As i grew older i came to understand that one thing about me differed from my classmates i was undocumented. However, my parents always taught me to see barriers as a measure of perseverance and an opportunity to thrive. Pablo was an excellent student. He dreamed of becoming a doctor. During high school and college, pablo volunteered at a nursing home every week. He also was a member of a group called doctor red nose. Pablo and other members of the group would dress up as clowns and visit hospitals, nurses and Nursing Homes to cheer patients and health care providers. He was accepted at rutgers university. Because he was undocumented he didnt qualify for Financial Aid. You heard that sentence over and over. Though he grew up in new jersey, he would have been required to pay outofstate tuition. As a result, pablo couldnt attend afford to attend rutgers. Instead he enrolled in Community College. Because he had taken College Courses when he was in high school, pablo was able to complete twoyear Associates Degree in one year. With an Associates Degree, pablo was able to transfer to King University in new jersey. In 2011 he graduated at the top of his class with a major in laude. Uma cum on the deans list every semester of college. A member of the Honors Society phi beta kappa. After graduating from college he was unable to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. He was part of manual labor jobs. Then in 2012, president obama established daca. Pablo heard from the Loyola University of chicago that accepted daca. Illinois faces a shortage of physicians in some communities. Loyola universitys daca program address this is problem. I described this problem again and again. Let me say the state of illinois has created this program. Med students can receive loans that cover the cover the costs of their medical education. For every year of loans they must work for a year in a medically underserved area. I said that earlier. I want people to know how creative people have become in not only helping educate, alleviate the cost but serve the community. As a result, some of the best and brightest students in the country have come to loyola to get a medical education and they will stay in illinois to help serve part of the state. More on pablo. Pablo desilva became med school at loyola, pursuing his dream to becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon. This is what he had to say. Daca has allowed me to fulfillify longstanding aspiration in medicine, has truly changed my future and for that im grateful. Im eager to contribute my share to the country i call my own. Thank you, pablo. This is karen villa gomez. She was brought to the United States when she was only two years old. She grew up in cho, illinois, shes an outstanding student and interested in public service. In may, 2012, she graduated from university of rochester, new york, with a major in political style stynes. Shes the first person in her family to graduate from a fouryear college. Just one month after graduating from college, president obama announced daca which allowed her to find a job with a law firm. This fall she wants to attend law school, if we pass this bill she wants to attend law school and become an attorney. If not, she could be deported back to mexico a country she hasnt lived in since she was a toddler. Heres what she says. Daca represents the values inherent in a country of immigrants. Its the right thing to do and change midlife by replacing fear with hope. It gave me an overwhelming sense of relief and hope, it lifted me from the shadow. I definitely want to repeat her first sentence. Daca represents the values inand heritage of this country of immigrants. It was the right thing to do and it has change midlife by replacing fear with hope. Will america be stronger with karen if karen is deported . No. I dont think. So this one is from representative foster. Representative foster also from illinois. This was his state of the union guest. Ana castillo a student at joliet jr. College in joliet, illinois. Ana is a graduate of bolingbrook gh school and is attending joliet junior college. Shes part of one of the largest Student Organizations. I had the occasion to meet wher when representative foster brought her to the state of the union. I wish more members of congress could meet more of these dreamers. I was impressed by the cumulative effect that they are making on their country. Each of them with their individual contribution to the greatness of america. So exciting, so proud of them. Representative polis state of a Union Address was student at university of colorado fort collins. She was born in chihuahua, mexico, and came to the United States when she was a young child. Her family stayed in colorado to care for her grandmother who suffered from breast cancer. She has flourished in colorado, graduating high school with a 4. 3 g. P. A. , where she participated in the reserve Officers Training corps. She went on to thrive at colorado State University, triple majoring in Political Science, ethnic studies and international relations. Thank you, representative polis. Thank you, representative foster for your very distinguished guest at the state of the Union Address. I did mention to the president when i welcomed him to the capitol that we had many dreamers and supporters of dreamers in the audience here. Also supporters of fairness for mexico. Were doing better as far as our negotiations go in terms of puerto rico. Aristide gonzalez, guest of representative grijalva. I see weve been joined by congressman Mark Desaulnier of california. This is the guest of Raul Grijalva. He came to the United States in 2000 from mexico and resides in arizona, thats a state that Raul Grijalva represents in ongress. Hes a student at in yeads. Growing up undocument shed lived in fear of what would happen to her and her family in her first year of college. Shes become more outspoken about her status as a daca recipient and became an advocate for the rest of undocumented youth. As a student privileged to go to school in the center of politics, she plans to consider her advocacy until Congress Passes dreamer legislation. Hopefully that will be very soon. Heres some testimonies from other members of congress. He ticha, student at california State University. Guest of congressman pete aguilar of california at the state of the Union Address. Congressman aguilar is a cosponsor with congressman hurd of texas of the legislation that is bipartisan has strong bipartisan support in the congress and one bill we hope the speaker would give us an opportunity to vote on on the floor of the house. Thank you, congressman aguilar. He ticha was born in mexico, arrived in the United States as the age of. Shes a dreamer and a student at california State UniversitySan Bernardino. In june, 2019, shell obtain a bachelors degree in sociology and two certificates, one in spanish Public Services and another in social services. She is committed to helping and spreading awareness about the latino community. She is an imgrant activist and is the Vice President of the Student Organization undocumented advocates at cal State University San Bernardino where she advocates for the rights of undocumented imgrants. Her work and dedication to our community has granted her the opportunity to serve at the alifornia delegates for fuerza National Group and student assistance of the undocumented Student Success group at c. S. U. S. B. Again, leadership, leadership, leadership. Education, leadership. How beautiful. This too is Leslie Martinez is a student at u. C. Irvine. She was a guest at the state of the union by of congressman ou correa. Shes passionate about her study, was brought to the United States at the age of 2. She was a growing up, she was alone most oaf time duh to her parents always working but this allowed her to become independent at a young age. She found out she was undocumented in middle school when she was atrying to apply for a scholarship but needed a Social Security number. Luckily daca came around during her high school year, opening several opportunities for her such as an internship at u. C. I. Medical center where she that would be university of California Irvine Medical Center where she was able to shah demedical professionals and opened up her love for the maland call field. Daca also made her College Applications a smooth process. Now shes a freshman in college and is passionate about her studies. She attends university of californiairvine and is majoring in chemistry. She wants to attend medical school in hopes of becoming a general surgeon or pediatrician. Again, doctors, doctors, doctors. Maybe she could find out about Loyola University school of medicine. Maybe shell have many more options by then. Hopefully when we pass this legislation. Ofen tehana, a student guest congressman scott peters. Karen lives lived in mexico for eight years until 2001 when her family migrated to san diego. Thanks to daca, karen has been able to graduate college with a degree in Public Health and nutrition at the university of san diego State University. Find work as a Research Coordinator at the university of Californiasan Diego and pursue her dreams in the field of medicine. She hopes to one day help underprivileged communities with health care needs. God bless you, karen. Another example, universally giving back, giving back, giving back. State of the union guest of judy migrated to the United States from south korea. Thanks to daca he was able to work and save money that allowed him to graduate with a bachelors degree in Business Information technology. Currently hes an immigrations rights fellow at the National Korean American Service and education consortium. This is quite an act are anymore nkasaec. Organizing and javo kating for economic, social, and Racial Justice for all. With a focus on alingse american and Pacific Islander communities. His dream is to attend law school in order to help his community in virginia. The guest of jerry connolly, nicole urea, she spoke at the before ference we had the state of the union. Made a joke with congressman connolly, someone referred to him as congressman ka know lee, but he is congressman cannoli, but he is connolly. Her entire life shes lived here in the United States here, the United States is her home. She grew up living the American Dream like any other american citizen. She celebrates the same traditions, ate the same food, enjoyed the same active to activities that any of her friends. Throughout her education she always had been a good student and always very active, not just School Activities but also with the community. She has been in girl scouts since the age of 4. Played both soccer and volleyball for many years and now is a high school student. Nicole spent many hours volunteering in the community and getting involved with organizations such as dream project, unidas u. S. And many more. After finding out she was undocumented she thought all her hard work an effort was for nothing but thanks to president obama she was able to apply for daca and she told her story very brilliantly. At our press conference before the state of the union. If you could hear them tell their own stories, its just about great humility conveying their stories because when you see them and they tell their stories an the passion and the ide and the jus patriotism, passion, pride, patriotism, that they demonstrate, you will see why anyone who has had the wonderful experience of being in conversation or observing our dreamers, understand why they have had such a high reputation among the american people. Some of whom have met them, some of whom have heard about them, some of whom have just catch she spark, catch the spark. Recognize, recognize again the hard work ethic. The commitment to education. To community service. To faith. To family, to the United States of america. Its a beautiful thing and this isnt, lets take a small number of people and try to do something. This is something very, very special. It says a lot about our country to be able to give protection in a way that has some certainty to ur dreamers. Ctoria is a vitoro torres is a student and was guest at the state of the union of congressman jimmy gomez. He came to the United States from mexico as a sixmonthold baby. Completely carried into this country. She learned she was undocumented when she was 14 and in 2014 became eligible to apply for daca. Earning daca protection allowed her to access a governmentissued i. D. Card, work authorization, health care and protection from deportation, with daca, she had the opportunity to travel across the country. Shes currently studying Political Science and business at Pasadena City College and plans to continue her education at hood college in frederic, maryland a wonderful school. She was part of the California Dream Network Steering Committee and one day hopes to run for a seat in the United States senate. You go, girl United States senate. Why not president well, she wasnt born here. Ok. Well. Again, Gabriella Hernandez was a state of the union guest of congress of our great democratic whip steny hoyer. Gabriella, 19, is a student at prince georges Community College. She came here with her mother from el salvador at the age of 4. Her goal is to transfer to a fouryear university in the fall, study to be a social worker and have an opportunity to thrive. She has lived her entire life in country, attended schools in Prince Georges County since kindergarten. Because family members already live here she doesnt have a lot of family left in the country she came from in el salvador and the situation has probably only gotten worse there since she came. In any event, i thank mr. Hoyer for giving us us her story. R. Frank pallone gave me this. He was with us early in the presentation and his guest at the state of the union was edgar, a stude at the unersity o newark. She came to the states from south korea. After 2008 economic recession,
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