Transcripts For CSPAN2 Decision To End Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals Program 20171004

Welcome everybody. Particularly, to our witnesses on both panels because i know you put a lot of work into preparation we thank everyone for their help. Before i give my Opening Statement for the topic of our hearing i think we all take a moment yesterday and today and for a long time in the future but i do it now on behalf of the committee do offer our collective thoughts and prayers to the victims of the Las Vegas Shooting and their families and their loved ones. As everyone is aware yesterday more than 59 americans lost their lives in more than 500 were injured. The carnage occurred that occurred yesterday is a truly heartbreaking. We are here today to consider how to address the issue created by president obamas on constitutional executive action referred to as deferred action for childhood arrivals. We will probably all use the acronym daca. In september, President Trump gave six months to congress to act in accordance with the constitution on an issue that impacts millions of americans and hundreds of thousands of unauthorized immigrants. We have been debating this issue for 16 years. What type of legal status, if any, that unauthorized immigrants who were brought here as children should have. Since 2001, successive congresses have considered this question and did not address it, in both oh seven and 2013 congress considered what we conr comprehensive Immigration Reform that would have legalized millions of unauthorized individuals however, these efforts and mass amnesty failed and the reason is simple. Remembering what happened in 1986 the American People recognize that legalization without enforcement and a way to address increased demand for cheap foreign labor would only continue a cycle of unauthorized immigration. That is why for Years Congress in a bipartisan fashion Work Together to strengthen our nations Border Security and interior enforcement but has struggled to address some of the thorniest elements of immigration. Nothing better highlights congress a bipartisan commitment to prevent ilLegal Immigration than the secure fence act. That bill authorize the government to construct 700 miles of fencing along the border and it passed with then senators obama biden, clinton and even our Ranking Member, ms. As president george w. Bush said that bill was quote in important step toward Immigration Reform. Why . Because it was an effort to restore Peoples Trust and integrity taking the real steps to have Border Security. As recently as 2010 both democrats and republicans agreed that the only constitutional action that can be taken was for congress to act. President obama summed it up best when he said wasnt a key and was quote again obliged to execute the law and cant just make the laws himself. To paraphrase, novelist th white a king, president obama was not but a king he decided to be. In june 15, 2012, he decided to bypass the constitution and use his words pen and not only did president obama abuse the prosecutorial discretion by staying deportation for these cases he also allowed recipients to apply for work permit and they did in hundreds of thousands. Since 2012, citizenship and Immigration Services have issued more than one. [inaudible] granting these permits was a clear violation of the constitution. From the beginning president obamas executive action was riddled with numerous loopholes that allowed fraud and abuse. Since 2012, victims and whistleblowers of contacted me to expose how even criminal elements benefited from the program. Thanks to the courage of these whistleblowers and victims i, along with several of my colleagues, sent over one dozen letters to the Obama Administration about the programs vulnerability to exploit exploitation and abuse. In one such case a daca recipient was granted a Work Authorization despite being under investigation by Homeland Security and investigation for child exploitation. After receiving his work permit, the beneficiary was fired by a summer camp in california where he was eventually arrested for distributing and possessing hundreds of pages of child pornography and for molesting a child in care. Although considered to be agreed to sleep potential safety months before his arrest he was nonetheless given a work permit. Whistleblowers also reported how one eligible beneficiaries could fraudulently continue employment once they are daca permit was terminated. All the Work Authorization was valid, after benefits are discontinued the recipient could work until the work documents itself expired, unless employers are of unaware of the termination. Despite of this clear abuse of power and the multiple examples of fraud in the program we were at least completed that president obamas assurances that this is not amnesty, this is not a path to citizenship begin and. Even this assurance was untrue. Preliminary data released to my office for citizenship and Immigration Services indicated that by the time the Trump Administration made its announcement on the daca almost 40000 beneficiaries had been adjusted to lawful, permanent resident status and were on a path to citizenship. It is clear that from the beginning president Obama Program while not ill intentioned, never operated in the way it was supposed to. Worst of all, the program created a false sense of hope of and among daca beneficiaries. Thousands of them in reliance on president obamas illconceived pen and foam promises started to work jobs pursuing education, making steps toward productive contribution to American Society and after all is said and done, that is all at risk. On september the fifth this year attorney general session announced the president had decided to rescind the Obama Program in reaching this decision general sessions acknowledged that many of us had known what many of us had known all along that daca was plain and simple and unconstitutional exercise authority by the executive branch. We all have empathy for young people who came here through no fault of their own and for many of them america is the only country they know and the administration isnt without a fee. In it renegotiated fact that almost 700,000 young people rely on the false promises that the Previous Administration didnt immediately terminate the program. Instead they created a sixmonth wind down that allowed anyone who currently had daca to keep their Work Authorization until two years after daca status expires. This wind down is simple. To get this congress a chance to adopt a constitutional longTerm Solution. So, here we are today. Almost a month after the Administration Announcement and a now is the time to start considering a path towards consensus in earnest. First and foremost, any potential daca agreement has to include robust Border Security and by that i dont mean a wall. Force, textural interceptor like fencing is a part of the answer but Border Security is more important than that. Border security is all of the above approach including sensing technology, funding for more Law Enforcement personnel and equipment, changes to substantive laws so that they catch and release and other misguided policies are ended and we need to require that the initiation finally have the exit system that congress has continually demanded and allocated money for over the last 15 years not anything of cost was being done. Second, and equally as important, for robust Border Security we have got to make sure that any deal has meaningful enforcement and the simplest most common sense must be to be ensure that we eliminate the root causes of undocumented immigration to make the everify system mandatory for all employers. This system helps employers confirm that job applicants are here legally. I know that this is a controversial and difficult step in some big corporate interests are going to object but we know that jobs are the number one reason people come here. Everify isnt the only answer. We also need to make it easier for Law Enforcement to deport gang members, dangerous felons, sex offenders and human traffickers. We need to fix the. [inaudible] decision that requires us to release dangerous criminal elements. Finally, we need to take a hard look at our asylum and immigration backlog and take steps to ensure speedy deportation for those who deserve it while preserving lawful claims for those truly in need. It would be a dereliction of our duty if we failed to take steps to end some at least some of the ilLegal Immigration as we know it and kick the can down the road so that future congresses have to address this very serious problem again in another 15 years. I am confident that if everyone is reasonable, we can reach a solution. So, we are here for this hearing today in the first panel is composed of government witnesses and i hope they will be able to provide some insight into what measures the Trump Administration thanks we should take to secure the border in the homeland in the process of helping daca kids. I know the administration is currently engaged in ongoing litigation and witnesses may be restricted in some questions they can answer. I can appreciate that and i hope my colleagues will do the same. However, to the extent questions can be answered and guidance can be given we should expect forthrightness. Then, i will talk about the second panel later on. Now, senator feinstein. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Thank you for your opening comments on october the first in what happened in las vegas. I think this is one of the most difficult kinds of problems that we have to reconcile but i really do believe that we have to find a solution to what is happening. I thank you for your comment in your opening. I would like to begin by welcoming one of our witnesses. Her name is denise rojas and shes a daca recipient and she has an incredible story to share with this committee. I am so proud of her and her competence. She is here from Mount Sinai Medical School in new york city and i just learned that the dean of the school is also here to witness the hearing and i believe his name is doctor muller. I would say welcome to him. I also want to point out that a fox news poll has shown that 83 support the pathway to citizenship for Illegal Immigrants. Particularly, overwhelming majority favor granting work permits an 80 , 12 opposed and us citizenship, 79 , 19 opposed to Illegal Immigrants under the age of 30 brought here as children provided they pass a background check. This is higher than anything i have seen on health care or tax. I hope it means something to the men and women of this body. The last nine months must have been a roller coaster of uncertainty and fear for young denise rojas and the rest of these young people. There are anywhere from 699,000 to 800,000 in unfriend unrolled in the Doctoral Program at a very young age. This was due no choice of their own. I do want to point out that i commend senator durbin produced a bill and comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2013 which i voted for in the committee and on the floor. It was a very thorough hearing and i believe there was no amendments to daca. It was one of the things that we are all very proud of. He has been joined by senator graham on the republican side now to forge a bipartisan partnership to get this done and i also want to think senator graham for your leadership and help on this key and important issue. The typical person obviously they came at about six years of age and through no will of their own. The United States is really the only home that they know it around a third of these live in my state of california. This program is particularly urgent for me and for my state where it enjoys very strong support. They contribute her my economy in so many ways and we know that 95 of Daca Recipients are working or are in school. They work as doctors engineers and lawyers and the study in high school and college and they are serving in the military. They are on the front lines helping Community Members for recent floods and hurricanes. And they are helping combat Opioid Epidemic today. They have become a part of American Society and efforts to expel them, i believe, are on conscionable. It is not just california but Daca Recipients came out of the shadows contribute to communities all across this country and these people have put their trust they have done everything asked of them and they are counting on us to put aside partnership and find a solution to this problem. They are looking for us to do what is right. This poll is the American People. I like to quickly share the story of just one dreamer i met in august. She was brought to this country when she was just one years old. Today she lives in east oakland. She is a 23 yearold graduate from uc santa cruz with a degree in psychology. After nearly 23 years in this country her parents were recently deported. They had no criminal records and they paid their taxes and they owned their home where i met the family. Her mom worked as an oncology nurse at Highland Hospital and her dad worked as a truck driver. They paid their taxes. Now, she is left a daca recipient, as a major support and caregiver for her two younger us citizen sisters. She is facing the uncertainty that she, too, could lose protection and be deported. Every day we fail to act means one more day that hundreds of thousands of dreamers are forced to live with this cloud hanging over them. No family in america should be faced this fear and uncertainty at the hands of their own government. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting senators graham and durbin in passing the dream act. These youths should not be political balls. They shouldnt be asked to choose between their future and their families and they should have the certainty of permanent immigration status. I have received literally hundreds of letters in support of the dream act which i asked be inserted into the record. Without objection it will be inserted. Thank you. I also want to take a moment to recognize members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who are in attendance today. Mr. Chairman, i appreciate the time and i thank you. We have two members that lead the subcommittee for republican democrats, normally they dont give Opening Statements but i will ask senator cornyn and senator durbin to do that accordingly if they are ready. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Today we are holding an important issue that has been the subject of intense debate for years. What should we do with those who are illegally brought to the United States as children but currently have no legal status. As we all know in 2012 the Obama Administration created through the executive order referred to as daca and if you arrived in the United States before age 16 and met certain criteria you could receive deferred action. Deferred action, horse, is a form of prosecutorial discretion that temporarily protects a person from removal and authorize the individuals work. While the doc daca programs help to help those brought illegally is not created lawfully. I remember this and sitting at the white house with some of the other senators and congressmen employing the president after the election in 2012 not to do this unilaterally but he decided to proceed anyway. On september the fifth, President Trump announced that he was phasing out the daca program by march 5th, 2018. I think President Trump was right to do so. This is a responsibility of the Congress Working with the president and we will embrace that responsibility. By making this announcement the present did what should have been done long ago and he put the decision in the hands of congress to find a solution. I am confident that working together we can do so. Today, approximately 800,000 individuals have benefited from daca. The time is right for congress to develop a solution for these young adults who were brought to the United States illegally by their parents. The very reason they have no legal status is because of the actions of others, not their actions and i believe they should not be penalized for being brought here illegally through no fault of their own. Creating a legislative fix is the right thing to do but there is a big caveat. For we provide legal status to these young people we must reassure and actually regain the Public Confidence that we are serious when it comes to enforcing the law in securing the borders. Weve tried over the past few years to pass commands of immigration form and failed spectacularly every time. I dont think we are capable of passing a comprehensive immigration bill so our efforts to deal with this particular population and deal with Border Security and interior enforcement, i think, should not make that same mistake again if were going to make any progress. I believe the better approach is an iterative one, step by step where we start enacting real Border Security and interior enforcement that works. We should build on that. That is a. Step, not the last step. We believe our immigration system is flawed and needs to be improved but for we can gain the publics confidence we need to regain their trust by doing what i just described. One reason every Immigration Reform bill has failed in the past is because the American People simply do not trust us to fix the problem. They can easily point to 1986 is a classic example of a Program Giving those here illegally status that was supposed to be backed up by enforcement regime which never occurred. It increased the incentive for ilLegal Immigration instead an additional acceptance of Immigration Laws by prior administrations has put us back in the very Situation Congress tried to fix in 1986. We need to put in forced measures that will actually get the job done and create real consequences for those who continue to about our Immigration Laws. That is why working together with senator tillis we have introduced a bill we Call Building americas trust act. This legislation would require the completion and maintenance of tactical and structure across the bolt southern border in order to achieve operational control in Situational Awareness of every sector. It would also increase the number of Border Patrol and immigration agents across the country while increasing our authority to apprehend, detain and deport dangerous criminals and those violate our Immigration Laws with impunity. I stand ready to work with all of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get such a Border Security enforcement bill passed through both houses into the president s desk before march 2018. I believe we can get it done and if they are willing to work with us on real Border Security and interior enforcement measures to stop ilLegal Immigration we can then come as part of that process, address the daca problem. You, mr. Chairman. Senator durbin. Thanks, mr. Chairman. Thank you for this hearing. It was 16 years ago that my office in chicago was contacted by a representative of the merit Music Program. Its a Great Program in chicago, lady left a lot of money and said take this money and use it to train students in the Public Schools and teach the music and give them Musical Instruments and the merit Music Program called and said we have this amazing young woman teresa lee and she started on the piano and turned out to be a prodigy, so good she is now been accepted at the major music schools across the country. Her problem is she is a korean immigrant to the United States brought here at the age of two and her parents did not file the necessary papers here to stay. She is undocumented. They asked us to take a look at her case and see if we could help her. We checked the law and the law was very clear. Teresa, 17 or 18 years old, under our law had to leave the United States for ten years and petition to come back in the United States. I thought to myself that is not fair. She has done nothing wrong in her parents were trying to help the family and they did not file the papp paper and she was two s old for goodness sake. I sat downs are working on the dream act. Sixteen years ago. This was legislation, Bipartisan Legislation to give people like teresa lee a past citizenship so when they came to the United States as children. Ive introduced the most recent version of it with my friend and colleague, Lindsey Graham on a bipartisan basis as well let me tell you the end of the story. She went on to obtain her bachelors and masters degree from Manhattan School of music and currently pursuing her doctorate. She has played in carnegie hall. She is an amazing young woman, now a mother, married and living in the new york area but i would like if the committee would work to introduce the first dreamer, teresa lee. [applause] i sent a letter to president obama which was cosigned by senator dick, republican from indiana and we asked him to protect the dreamers from deportation. The following year we held the first hearing on the dream act right in this room and i will never forget the room was packed with hundreds of dreamers who were risking deportation to travel here from around the country to appeal to congress and the executive branch. In june 2012 president obama used his executive authority to establish daca, deferring the deportation of dreamers and allowing them to work on a temporary renewable basis only after they had paid the filing fee for processing and had gone through a comprehensive immigration, partly criminal background check and also made pledges that they would pay their taxes and everything required of citizens in the United States. Well, because of daca we now have almost 800,000 dreamers contributing to our country. As teachers and nurses and First Responders, servicemembers across the board. As those who dismiss daca as president ial overreach, take the time to meet with dreamer christina velasquez. Christina, are you here . Thank you for joining us. Let me tell you about her. She was six years old when she came to the us from venezuela. She is now a student at georgetown, received the president s volunteer Service Award two years in a row. She is dedicated to other undergraduate summers and a full school year volunteering as a teacher. When she graduates from georgetown in december she will start working as teach for america which already has 190 Daca Recipients teaching kids across the United States and many Challenging School district. There are so many in the room that i can spend my time introducing but we want to get onto the hearing. I want to say this about the people ive introduced and others who are here. America needs to know that the clock is ticking on their lives. Consider this. Beginning on march the fifth 2018 every workday for the following two years every workday for approximately 1400 dreamers will lose their work permits and be subject to deportation. Every workday. Teachers will be forced to leave their students, nurses forced to leave their patients, First Responders to leave their post, medical students to leave medical school and the soldiers who have volunteered to risk their lives for america will be forced to leave the army. This isnt just a looming manager in crisis but an economic component. These dreamers, those who are qualified daca are working hard and going to school in there important part of our economy america gets this as senator feinstein said earlier it was fox news who brought us the pole that said 83 of americans support to the path to citizenship for dreamers, including 63 of those who voted for President Trump. We need to pass the dream act and that is what senator graham and i are trying to do. I want to say a kind word they tell us that republican senators does bill demonstrate that we do have the beginning of broad bipartisan support in the senate to solve this issue. We dont agree on every aspect between the bills but we are in common conversation with the goal in mind. We i would also like to say a word about the dream act that senator graham and i introduced in comparison to the deceit act. [inaudible] , would you stand . She has been my friend for many years and she was brought to the arises from nigeria as a child. She lived here for more than 20 years. She graduated from washington and Lee University with a degree in chemical engineering. She currently serves on the global agenda counsel in migration and was recognized in the World Economic forum is one of 15 women changing the world. Unfortunately, she doesnt qualify under the succeed act to become as part of americas future legally. It wont offer her the protection from deportation to nigeria where she hasnt lived since she was a child. Finally, on negotiations, senator cornyn, i couldnt agree with you more. If we can sit down and come up with a reasonable list of Border Security provisions that will give us the peace of mind and assurance that we are doing our level best to stop those coming into it states that should be here, i will join you in that effort. I cant subscribe to a litany of possibilities here. There are some who say that every idea theyve had about immigration and want to slap it on the dream act. We cant do that either. Lets try to find some reasonable compromises themselves and when we do, america will be a better nation. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Senator durbin, i thank you for your statement about finding a reasonable, mice. I believe we can and we should. For i introduced the government witnesses i want to look at the prepared testimony aware that several of my colleagues are frustrated the committee didnt receive testimony until late last night. While i understand their frustration i want to point out the late submission is normal and i say that sadly. Both administrations regularly struggle with timely submission of testimony and while annoying, we rarely make it an issue. I hope it is the same courtesy we have shown past administrations will be shown here. I also want to address the lack of written testimony submitted by the department of justice. I understand justice didnt submit testimony because they were unable to have it cleared in time for this hearing. While frustrating i appreciate the fact that justice is here today and willing to give oral testimony to the committee because over the weekend i and my staff were bombarded with sorts of phone calls from those all over the country to not have this mr. Carty has tremendous amount of experience in the field of immigration. He currently serves as secretary for border immigration and trade policy at the department of Homeland Security office of strategy, policy and plans and previously worked at dhs for us citizenship and Immigration Services. He is the acting policy for immigration with border and transportation security directorate. He worked for us in congress when he was a legislative counsel to senator john mikhail and as a staff member was a staff member on Homeland Security within her own judiciary committee. The next is currently acting director of the us citizenship and Immigration Services. He is also Deputy Director, prior to becoming Deputy Director he served as the associate director overseeing five us citizenship and Immigration Services the process over 4 million application annually. Prior to that he was chief of the us cis office of legislative affairs. He has held positions within the department of Homeland Security from its inception. His work has ranged from dhs office of general counsel to Homeland Security director in havana, cuba. Chad radler is the current acting assistant attorney general in the department of Justice Civil Division in this role he oversees the largest litigation invasion in the department of justice. Prior to joining the department he handled complex, civil and litigation as a partner with jones in addition to his federal service. He has served in all three branches of the ohio government in an appointed capacity. We will start with mr. Daughtry and all of you have five minut minutes. You will probably have a longer statement that you will want to put in the record and we accept that for the record. Proceed. Thank you sharon. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss actions being taken by the department of Homeland Security to end the deferred action for childhood arrivals policy, also known as daca. As the committee well does the position of individuals brought to the United States as minors and who lack immigration status has been the subject of congressional and public concern for well over a decade. Despite that concern and despite numerous efforts of Immigration Reform, congress is not succeeded in passing legislation that would address the status of childhood arrivals. The daca policy was established by the Previous Administration in june 2002. Daca was to quote president obama at the time a temporary stopgap measure. He added that Congress Needed to act to put a permanent solution in place. The events leading to the revision of the daca policy on september 5, 2017 are set forth in the dhs acting secretarys memorandum. In short, the department was advised by the attorney general that the tran attorney daca was unconstitutionally it could lead to an adverse ruling against dhs. Given concerns that the court ruling might have disruptive effects the choice was made to wind down the policy in an efficient and orderly fashion. The process for an orderly and efficient wind down of the daca policy will be the subject of our testimony today. Broadly stated, dhs will adjudicate pending daca initial and renewal request and associated applications for employment authorization documents that were accepted by september 5, 2017. Dhs was also for Daca Recipients whose deferred action was set to expire in the next six months the opportunity to renew their request if their applications are accepted by october 5, 2017. The department winding down of the winding down will avoid administrative interruption. This will include returning application piece. It also avoids the prospect to Daca Recipients to roughly lose deferred action in the Work Authorization because of an Adverse Court Ruling that could enjoin daca in its entirety. Further, the eventually winding down of the Program Allows congress some time to exercise its authority in crafting a legislative solution. President trump has publicly expressed his interest in performing in improving our nations grecian laws and the administration is well understands that Immigration Reform legislation is difficult. I myself worked long hours on Bipartisan Legislation in this committee while serving on the staff of senator john kyle some years ago. We did as mentioned in dhs written statements department testimony today is necessarily restricted by the fact that daca is an active litigation. For that reason we will confine our testimony to the practical and operational steps that dhs is taking to phase out the daca policy. Chairman grassley, Ranking Member feinstein and distinguished members of the committee we look forward to taking your questions today and discussing how the department can be of assistance to congress as you develop a legislative solution to this issue. You. Thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you to discuss the specific steps being undertaken by the United States citizenship and Immigration Services to implement the deferred action for childhood arrivals policy. Within the department of Homeland Security the us cis Agency Responsible for on any given day more than 19000 federal employees of us cis are making decision on immigrant and nonimmigrant areas of our nations immigration system. It has been my privilege to serve in multiple career leadership positions within us cis most recently as a career acting director. In doing so i will observe the leadership to be dedicated Public Servant seeking to ensure that all applications, petitions and requests are adjudicated in a manner that protects our National Security Public Safety and the integrity of our nations immigration system. In keeping with this mindset of our agency my remarks today will provide a brief snapshot of the specific usc as actions as a phase out daca in an efficient manner. As we do so we are guided by key dates that affect the affect. The acting secretary issued a memorandum on september 5th 2017. Properly filed initial renewal request associated with applications from employment authorization that was received as of september 5th, 2017 will be considered on an individual case basis in accordance with the guidelines that included in the june 15, 2015 phs marina. Additionally, us cis will. [inaudible] us cis will reject for initial daca and they have been and will be after applications for advanced parole will be pending as of september 5th have been rejected and refunds are being processed. Advanced parole documents issued prior to september 5, 2017 will remain valid subject to us customs and border retain their authority they have always exercise in determining the admissibility of any persons presenting at the border. To support an effective and orderly wind down us cis will provide information to inform the public of how the processing of daca request will be affected by the september 5th 2017 memorandum issued by acting secretary. We have worked with him will continue to work diligently with the administration, dhs and other Agency Partners in this phasing out process and will continue to keep members of congress and the public aware of the changes in key dates. In closing, it is my hope that the information presented will help the congress craft legislative solution to address the situation of individuals brought to this country as minors in a way that will fairly balance enforcement, humanitarian and practical considerations. Of course, as that solution is being worked out by our congress us cis stands ready with dhs to provide technical operational assistance on any legislation that is drafted. On behalf of the us cis we coming committed to writing. Ellipsis in an efficient manner. We will seek to do this work as we always do with the millions of cases managed by you as cis with integrity, professionalism and great care and attention to the mission of Homeland Security. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the phasing out of daca and i look forward to your questions. Thank you. Good morning, chairman grassley. Thank you for your invitation to appear this morning. Before i begin my formal statement i would like to echo the statements of chairman grassley and take a moment to express my deepest condolences to the families of those were lost in the horrific violence in las vegas. Those lost are in our thoughts and prayers today. On behalf of attorney general sessions and the entire department of justice, we want to say how proud we are of the Law Enforcement and First Responders who rushed to the scene. These brave men and women are true heroes. We are grateful for their service, to the community in the country. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the administrative decision to wind down the deferred action for childhood arrivals policy. In september the attorney general sent a letter to acting secretary of Homeland Security that recommended an orderly and efficient wind down of the daca policy. The attorney general stated in the letter that daca was implement it by the Previous Administration through executive action without proper Statutory Authority and with no established and date after congress repeated rejection of proposed legislation that wouldve published a similar result. The letter also explained that such an open ended circumvention of Immigration Laws was an unconstitutional exercise of authority by the executive branch. The attorney general concluded that the daca policy does suffered from a host of legal and constitutional defects. The attorney generals letter advised that the court struck down a similar executive policy related to deferred action for parents of americans and lawful permanent residents. The state of texas challenged the policy and the District Court after extensive hearings and factual findings determined that enforcement was contrary to law and accordingly and joined its enforcement. The fifth Circuit Court of appeals affirmed that decision and the United States Supreme Court by an equally divided vote also. As attorney general described in his prepared remarks on september 5th the fifth circuit specifically concluded that daca had not been implemented in a fashion that allowed sufficient. [inaudible] and that it was foreclosed by congress careful plan. Bearing in mind the courts decision regarding the attorney general explained in his letter that because the daca policy has the same legal and constitutional defects that the court recognized in. [inaudible] litigation would result similarly for tonight. Therefore the attorney general advised that the department of Homeland Security should wind down daca in an orderly and it didnt manner. As the attorney general noted in his remarks on september 5th the wind down will fulfill the desire of this administration to create a time. For congress to act should it so choose. The decision to end the daca policy is currently the subject of pending litigation. Nineteen states and the district of columbia as well as other. [inaudible] have challenged the decision and the daca policy. The department is defending the suits and in deference to the courts charged with hearing and resolving pending litigation involving the United States it is the longstanding policy of the department not to discuss that litigation outside of court and the department accordingly limited in its testimony today. The Department Takes seriously the committees oversight responsibility. It is our goal to be as responsive to the committee as possible. In light of the ongoing litigation the potential effect of public statements on pending court cases and the department litigation and a strength, including the need for the department to speak as one voice through corporate proceedings and filings, i will make statements today be able the attorney lateral or public information. The apartment. [inaudible] thank you. We will have five minute round questioning. The mathematician on my judiciary staff said this hearing could take four hours. I would like my colleagues and their five minutes if you ask your last question and time runs out, finish asking your questions and we will let the person respond but please, dont have dialogue after the five minutes have run out. I will start with mr. Radler. As i said in my Opening Statement i understand that the department is currently engaged in ongoing litigation and you may not be able to fully answer all questions posed but to the extent possible the American People and congress would appreciate any additional clarity that can be offered on the decision to rescind daca and restore integrity to our nations lawful immigration system. One question in his public statements attorney general said rescinding dock a in enforcing the law saves lives, protects communities and taxpayers and prevents human suffering. How does the decision to end daca achieve the ends stated by general sessions . Those statements that general sessions made to the public when daca decision was announced. Those are the attorney generals and was on those issues and to the extent those issues are relevant to daca they may very well be relevant to the litigation in those issues raised in litigation with respect to whether the action was permissible to wind it down. I think those are probably also appropriate considerations for policymaking body like the senate to consider. As you consider, future actions or future legislative actions in respect to daca. Mr. Daughtry, the issue of daca, i have expressed a lot of concern about it over the years and im glad to see this administration taking some of my concerns seriously. Id like to know what this Administration Thanks it needs to improve Immigration Enforcement to the points where we dont wind down another daca situation in another decade or two. You know that congress has been demanding a functioning entry exit system for almost 20 years and i think we can all agree that some sort of Employment Verification Program will help eliminate the major causes of ilLegal Immigration but now i will ask you for more details. What everify reduce the need for dhs to engage in immigration raids or other enforcement activities are smart. Senator, i believe the answer is yes. Everify is currently voluntary and. [inaudible] i dont want to take anything away from him but i would tell you that the system adds about 1400 new businesses each week and i believe we have over 700,000 businesses that rely on everify. The system is scalable, fairly easy to use and it can be used just like any other Government Program with an infusion of additional funding to make sure that it is robust. I studied everify and i wanted to understand that people liked it or not. Most employers that i spoke with said we got used to it. It was once we got the interface and once we started it work for us. Yes, senator, the question is if we were able to have a mandatory everify for the right sizes of businesses and we would decrease the attraction of getting a job in the United States. For you also we need to make it easier to remove people who shouldnt be here especially criminal elements and we also need to reduce case backlog and Detention Time so that we dont have to let these people remain at large and in our country for years while they wait for their cases to be adjudicated. Question number one, when it comes to removing criminal aliens, what stands out to you as the biggest legal barrier . For instance, is it the. [inaudible] decision for the Supreme Court said you cant hold remove a person beyond certain periods of times or cant hold and its a problem with the ambiguous definition of violent criminal activity. Im suggesting two or three verses Something Else is a combination of all three. When a country wont accepts back that we are trying to remove, we are doing better at that and were being very aggressive at using our Legal Authority to encourage them to take their people back. A modification of the oneonone 43 definition of criminal aliens could only deserve a second look so i think the other inhibitor to our ability to identify to remove criminal aliens will be capacity of terms of ice ages. We need more of them and we need interior enforcement. Senator feinstein. Thank you, mr. Chairman. The Trump Administrations decision to terminate the daca program, i think, as everyone knows has stirred an incredible amount of anxiety and fear hundreds of thousands of people across the country. A few weeks ago President Trump turned to twitter to announce that daca beneficiaries concerned about their status during the programs phaseout have nothing to worry about, no action. As the department of Homeland Security issued guidance or memorandum reflecting the position pronounced by the presence. I dont believe that is necessary. We rely on guidance put in place in 2012 when the daca program was substantiated available on the website in will tell you what the priorities are for immigration Customs Enforcement and for the department at large. Those priorities are not changed. Has there been any instruction pursuant to their policy decision on twitter . Any instructions provided to the department Homeland Security question. Man, poor daca came up it was forced on us because of litigation. Then secretary kelly issued the priorities immigration priorities enforcement documents and i have forgotten what state that was. I believe its in february 2012. That stated the Immigration Enforcement priorities for the department of Homeland Security and at the time he phased out. [inaudible] because of what was going on the situation was everchanging and that guidance did not apply to that population. I would tell you in good faith and complete confidence that we are relying on the same priorities that were in place in 2012 and we are not added to them. Let me be clear, no instructions have been given to dhs regarding personnel with respect to Enforcement Actions against daca. Corrects. We do not have specific instructions to go after any Daca Recipients. We are in agreement, so that would be excellent if it happe happens. Let me ask you another question. I wont do that one. In january, the president signed objective of orders pertaining to Border Security, and be interior Immigration Enforcement. They called for the additional 5,000 Border Patrol agents and 10,000 deportation officers. In july at the department of Homeland Security office of the ig released an important report which included the department of Homeland Security customs and Border Protection and Customs Enforcement face significant challenges in meeting the hiring goals identified in these orders. It noted that both have failed to provide data to justify the operation on the eve of the deployment strategy for the additional agents and officers and found in the comprehensive workforce model, dhs will continue to struggle to accomplish its missions in a costeffective manner. Do you believe these would be an efficient use of taxpayer money . I would say the answer is yes. Yes. The difficulties pointed out in finding highly effective people, which is what the American People would like us to hire because they operate in positions of autonomy and Great Authority we want to get the best candidates that we can. So, the organization struggles to do that as i think most struggle to get height people but its to enhance the security of the United States by removing criminal aliens from the United States and to ensure the borders secure against folks that try to cross it. Hispanics are the priority as thosisthose that have committed crimes. Yes. Senator graham. Lets continue. There is the need for more agents is that correct . And we are having a hard time fulfilling that need. If you are looking for a job, called icy e. If we do nothing in congress, what happens . The days of the documents will begin to expire for the current recipients. So people will lose their status and no longer be gainfully employed. People that have lived there most of their lives, all of their adult lives will have no place to go other than being deported. Unfortunately lacking that authorization is the discretion they would no longer have a standing in a country thats correct. Do you think this would give kids a decent life and the a dee to serve as promised . Youve been working on this with the senator for a long time. Do you believe the dream act kids have all these outliers in any group that day in the country or the likability . Theres benefits as many immigrants coming in. Ive learned i naturalized people to become u. S. Citizens. It means a great deal. They are a valuable contribution to the society and the the needo regularize their society. The only thing standing in between that outcome is congress do you agree . Yes sir. I will withdraw the question. We have a large group of people that we get a legal status that dont have a pathway to citizenship holding some kind of a piece of that can stay all their life i never had a chanceo be citizens . Do you think now is a good time to start that process . No sir. A lot of people are hired help outside looking in. Do you agree with that . Creating secondclass citizens isnt a good model. Do you think the president shares that view . I dont know how we can fix this problem but maybe we will find a way. Is it fair to say that the border would be improved in terms of security they are transiting to the border and getting hurt. What happens to their parents if we do the dream act . Thats for congress to decide. Are there any recommendations . We would be happy to work to provide any Technical Assistance. So you would have parents about the children that get a zero benefit for the dream act is that correct . Appearance of the children depending upon the parameters of what would be in the possibility so they would have to be addressed separately even if you passed the act is that correct . If you pass and get the status they eventually would be able to petition on behalf of their parents. Which recommendations what you have . Qualifications are well known in the body. The dream act has been around for a long time. We are willing to help in any way that we can. It is frustrating two or three years ago we passed a Major Overhaul of immigration in this committee that passed to1. Republicans and democrats voting for it. The Republican Leadership said they couldnt bring it up where it would have violated the rule and because of an enormous respect before he went to prison they couldnt bring it up and i think everybody wishes the dreamers take nothing more than to contribute to the only country that theyve known. So, we embrace those playing by the rules and pull them up by the bootstraps and to face my grandparents when they immigrate to from ireland. The recent speech with attorney general sessions suggested a program at risk of crime violence and terrorism. Less than 1 lost their status due to the Public Safety concerns. The attorney generals lette atr had a host of concerns. They put the nation in risk of the violins. That is an easy yes or no answer. He accurately describes the bill and daca puts the nation at risk of crime violence and terrorism . If the attorney general says is the position of this, yes. Now, they are less likely to be incarcerated than the nativeborn and the education profiles. In light of the attorney generals statement you are presenting here, can you provide the committee with any examples of those that have been involved in terrorist activities . You dont have to give me hundreds, just give me one. Im not aware of any examples. Neither is the attorney general when he said that i can guarantee that. Can you provide the statistics compiled by the other Government Agencies to support the attorney generals claims about the dreamers proclivity . The attorney general obviously in his letter articulated the position and the attorney general will be appearing in front of the committee this month and we would be happy to address those issues. Ive only been here 42 years. It is striking because you dont know the answer to that. I was happy to, senator. You dont know the answer to the question. Senator sessions letter articulated for her five reasons to asking the secretary for the policy to be wound down and that is the position. But he also spoke of the proclivity to terrorism and we dont seem to find any. The duty is to defend the American People. There are roughly 900 dreamers and they supposedly have five deferments. The dreamers have, isnt it in our National Interests to keep theinterest to keepthem in the . With respect to the dreamers and the armed forces or any other occupations, we recognize the action and the direction doesnt provide permanent stat status. You are the acting director to deport the thousands who are serving with our military. The priority is having changed and we can provide more information on that. Some questions for the record i hope to be answered. Im delighted. I think its the 19th, but i dont know for sure. You will probably be here for the whole meeting and i welcome you. Thank you mr. Chairman. Does the president believe we should pass the daca bill . To find a solution to daca, he would also Like Congress to get other improvements that can be made for the interior security and to allow the department to do what it can to protect the interest of the american worker. Can you tell us what they would like to see in the bill . The core components of Immigration Reform that are of interest to the immigration are controlling the border in the defense act expanding our ability to expeditiously remove the foreign nationals when they dont have a convention against torture we would like to improve the vetting and security and reduce the visa overstays. We are concerned about the repatriation as i mentioned earlier and we would like to protect u. S. Workers and prevent fraud in the workplace, update them on immigrant visas and then we both like to examine the establishment of the meritbased system that prioritizes the skills of immigrants over the low skilled. Im looking for a little more meat on the bone. Tell me if you would, with the trumpet administration would like us to do with respect to socalled dreamers. We are not in a position by design of advocating for any particular legislative solution. Im not asking you to choose among the bills. Im asking what the administration thinks with specificity because the president has the ability to veto a bill. What specifically does the trumpet administration think we should do with respect to the socalled dreamers . Let me answer the question this way. How about just answer. These individuals lack former status in the United States. Should they be allowed to stay . It would be a rational though they would be able to become citizens. So they should be allowed to stay . The president , yes, but like to work with the congress. Under what conditions does the president believe they should be allowed to stay . I dont have those details for you. You dont have any suggestions . We are ready to give Technical Assistance at any time, and i appreciate that. We need all the assistance we can get. But im interested in trying to understand from q3 gentleman here it is established that the administration supports allowing the dreamers to stay. And what im asking maybe i should include you colleagues here under what conditions. I apologize under what conditions . With respect to those policy points, i would defer to the department. We are happy to consider the legislative proposals and the attorney general said in his letter. So weve established that they agree they should stay. But do you not hav have any posn whatsoever on the conditions . If you mean what do they need to satisfy to remain in the United States. Yes, the frequent condition on those you want to do things to sign whatever conditions we put on it. Weve identify is what i as whad about the bill. I dont know what happens then. I do. Im out of time. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, i hope the statement that he made will be part of the record. Lets at least if we can get a copy of it. The second point i want to make the went through comprehensive immigration and you may know we spent six months and then took it to the chairmanship of the committee and had 540 amendments offered. The most prolific members now the current attorney general. Let me say speaking for myself, do not put the burden on the dreamers to accept every aspect of comprehensive reform to get the chance to become citizens of the United States that is too much to ask. But in order to give them legal status it has the entiret is the comprehensive reform bill. Lets try to find a reasonable way but its too much from where im sitting. The second strike set the heart of the dreamers today. Most were raised in the United States by their parents. Parents. Entire lives to never breathe a word publicly about the status of their family and fear of deportation. Do your best. Then we said do just the opposite. Declare your self to the government of the United States of america. Tell them where you are, sub at your self to a background check and we said this information will not be used against you or your family. Is that still the standard being used that the information will not be used against their familys . That information comes into the agency. Since 2012, the policy hasnt changed which specifically says. It was for the Immigration Enforcement proceedings and any referrals to be made for the guidance. At this point the information policy does remain the same. In each of you have said repeatedly in various forms that an orderly and efficient wind down and its painful to say those words because there is nothing orderly about exposing hundreds of thousands of young people to deportation to tell them they can no longer work. Yesterday i was at the house of chicago counseling young people about fiveyear flailing they were given four weeks to come up with a fee on time. It was because of the obvious disasters theyve gone through. May i implore you to do the same that the Internal Revenue service is doing by giving the same casebycase consideration to those who live in texas and louisiana and florida if its good enough for the tax collectors to have a hard isnt it good enough for the folks we have 100,000 recipients in texas, 30,000 in florida. I dont know how many fit into the special category but for the sakes, give them a break if they are facing hurricanes and problems with it, dont hold them to the deadline. Give them a casebycase consideration. Based upon what i will hear in a moment from one of our people ive expressed a lot of concern about criminals getting a proven. A recipient was granted despite being under investigation by the hsi for child exploitation. He went on to be hired by a summer camp in california. You heard me express that in my Opening Statement. So, just so there is no doubt, there are examples about the committees crimes and i think you left the impression that you dont have any examples. The attorney general also spoke more broadly to the immigration issues generally with concerns to the information about that as well. We do have examples. I want to go back to the line of questions. Thats one of the benefits of the social media. I want to go back and take a look at the communications. I know one september 5, the president appropriately did the precision of the executive action out of the Obama Administration. I think that it was legally flawed and overturned if the president took appropriate action. Now i happen to support the treatment for the population and i want to get to that if i have time on the date of the recession the president said they had six months to lead allies something the Obama Administration wasnt able to do and if they cant i will revisit the issue. He then goes on to say gets ready to do your job. Then he moves on to say the wall that is already on the construction for the new renovation would continue to be built. Does anybody want to throw out good uneducated accomplished people. Some serving in the military, so in other words i think he wants it fixed. So its what the priority is and i think that it should be a respectful and compassionate treatment for the population. And it must include some Border Security so that we are not here again so there is a list of priorities i agree with which is the entirety of the issues in this country, but we do need whitehouse leadership owhite hon exactly what the sixmonth timeline but the president was placed on congress to do our jobs looks like and i hope that it is an articulate, compassionate, for response to provide certainty to the population and a reasonable sustainable fiscally sound of Border Security strategy. That seems to me its a good step in the right direction after 30 years of failure. I think that would be a good success for the president. It wont get all the issues the administration wants to deal with the discipline message seems to be consistent with what the president communicated on september 5 and 14th and incidentally he went on to say that there was no deal made with pelosi and schumer and it needs to be a key part so we need clarity from the administration and i hope you take that back. The populatio population in thes whether its texas, florida, puerto rico or any other place there needs to be a reasonable response because the appropriate action by the prior administration. Finally i want to mention theres examples where we have some 2,000 or so people that are doing a disservice that are part of the population but doing a disservice to our working hard in school wanting to serve the military and are gainfully employed. Theres nothing to be treated becaustreatmentbecause they disw after he had given them an opportunity to be here but for the majority of the population, we need to stop talking about it and sold it and i think theres great proposals we can get together and its on us to do it and i urge my colleagues to not make this be something that goes on and on and we have a budget deal as a gimmick i think it is a disservice to the population we know what a reasonable solution is and we should provide it. Im sorry but i dont have time for you to answer my question. Thank you mr. Chairman and senator durbin and for trying to work with us on a solution. I was thinking of the issue on criminality and 97 of the 800,000 plus are in school and working. Do you have any reason to dispute that the issue was raised about crime, the shooting yesterday and would it surprise you who were First Responders but ive certainly seen on tv there were First Responders who were immigrants. Would that surprise you at all and the person who perpetrated the carnage wasnt an immigrant, he was caucasian is that right . I was disappointed to learn the attorney general stated that the department of Homeland Security didnt plan to extend the deadline hearing in court last week. Is it true the administration isnt considering the deadline and how come you pick a onemonth deadline we picked one month. The decision was made by the assistant acting secretary taking any applications that we didnt already have and that was the decision made. Why only one month if we were talking about these cam that cap in texas and florida. The concern by the attorney general that we were sitting on top of the program or policy that was unlawful is one that we needed to terminate and do it quickly. We are not authorized to exercise against the advice of the attorney general on something that may be unconstitutional. And im not trying to put a phony line in the sand. When we were advised it was unlawful, can we then draw it down and what would it look like if we were concerned about the abruptness to terminate the program through a preliminary injunction thats why we expected down the way we did. We had the capacity. We have one extension for the folks on a casebycase basis we will consider those systemically, no. Ive heard from the university of minnesota and others in my state about the decision to resend. The march 5 deadline falls in the middle with nearly half of the dreamers in school. This deadline and the loss of Work Authorization could force many of them to drop out mid semester. Is there any consideration allowing the students to complete their education at least through the current ear wax wax have they engaged with the universities and institutions regarding the elimination of daca and if not, could you do so because that is what we are hearing in the job openings we have in the key areas. Has there been any coordination with the schools . On the day that we announced the wind down that included some of the academic community. Today weve received about 106,000. Thank you to all of you. Let me ask one practical question. What i have seen in the press reporting, there seemed to be very wide variation of enforcement including areas like school churches, court houses and so forth. I do not get the impression from what im reading about enforcement in the areas that the policies have much sway out in the field. I know President Trump campaigned very strongly with the organizations that represent the field agents, so they may feel empowered to go off on their own missions that are inconsistent with the kind of command discipline that we expect so if you could give me your brief assessment of to what extent it exists in these areas and that are being followed down to the field level i appreciate your assessment of that if you want to do with shorthand on the percentage basis, feel free to do that i would defer to the department that handles the administration. I am unaware of any activity on the interior enforcement for the United States is beholden to the following the directives in the secretary of the homeland and prioritizing those things established in the documents that we produced including that came out from them secretary kelly. I am unaware. One of the things we are seeing is the followon effects are very frightening to people. Very frightening to children in particular that we dont expect to be expert analysts of the constitution or the contours of government policy they just get a signal there is a sense of fear about what has happened and i would hope is to make the decisions that you make you take to some degree to account those consequences that are playing out in the lives of these people this may seem like political fun and games but there are classrooms with kids that are frightened. I guess my time is up. He sai said maybe it cost her se and i want to ask you if this is making clear he doesnt sign this he said failure to enforce the law in the past. Its referred to as the immigration issue more broadly. I want to thank all the witnesses for being here today. We are talking about offending the lives of over 800,000 young people. They work hard and play by the rules. People who will contribute when we talk about Fiscal Health and future in the country wheelbase show the demographics we have and its like we just had more young people who are working and studying. Thats who we are talking about. This remarkable young woman was an intern in my office in minnesota last summer. Her mother a single tear and brought her here from mexico as an immigrant because she wanted a better life for her daughter and to make the dream is reality her mother worked multiple jobs to provide. She was second in her family to finish High School Graduating with honors and daca allowed her to apply to colleges and she seized the opportunity despite exposing herself and her family. She won an academic scholarship still have to work two jobs to cover all the costs because of an eligible federal aid. While working nights at target i talked with her after attorney general sessions and announced they would terminate the program and she told me how vulnerable she felt that i promised her we wouldnt give up the fight. Turning our back is a disgrace. They were serving in the military for the sake. Its devastating our communiti communities. Turning our backs on the dreamers i am hopeful we can Work Together to protect the future. I am a strong supporter of bipartisan dream act which would allow the eventual citizenship and i just want to urge all my colleagues to vote for it. When they first applied, they voluntarily gave a lot of their personal information everything from fingerprints to retinal scans and senator durbin was asking about this. If the government were to use the information they voluntarily turned over i think it would represent a shocking betrayal of trusthe trust they put in us. So far the administration said it will turn in the information. And i just want to ask a question. Will you commit to me that you will never proactively disclose information obtained through the applications to Law Enforcement agencies and will you identify the circumstances to respond to the request with that information . Thank you for that question with respect to setting up the guidelines which information would be disclosed since the beginning of the policy we note that information wouldnt be turned over for enforcement proceedings that could be turned over in the notice to guidance and we will make sure that this inplace. With respect to the policy it hasnt changed since 2012 but the information we provided no ticket could be subject to change and we could continue with that. Weve acknowledged the presence and get to my questions i would like to ask do you have a concern that they provided information to the government that could be used to target them for deportation if not now been six months from now without congressionacongressional actiot the dreamers . I would like a yes or no answer if you have a concern that they provided this information to the governments we segovernment we set out from the start of 2012 the way the information would be shared and not assured for the purpose of Immigration Enforcement proceedings but weve always tried to make that point clear from the beginning. Didnt you say that could change as a policy decision . That is correct from the beginning it could be subject to change. So that is a concern we have. What you like to respond . That heartland understands its a threat to National Security and is going to do everything in its power as it should in the organization to neutralize that concerned. If we know somebody is a Public Safety threat. My time is running out and i think all of us acknowledge if someone is a risk to the National Security Public Safety there are ways that information can be used but the bottom line i get is right now you do not have a concern that they provided this information to the government. Right now you do not have a concern that its going to be used when they no longer have the protections. We dont have any plans to target them based on anything that we have received. Are you saying that they have nothing to fear regarding deportation because its so coming you should put that out there. If they have nothing to fear from deportation why do you not put that out. To get back to the point regardless of the status. Im talking about 800,000 that are not a risk to the National Security so i would say since you both acknowledged not to use this information to change, they dont have anything to fear today from the deportation and use of the information but the policy or position can change very quick quickly. The attorney general says it is illegal and unconstitutional. So why even allow the extensio extensions . We have had a practical problem on our hands with a large number received at the department where individuals put their money towards that and included the payment with that so unraveling back was a difficult thing to do and this body can go about creating a solution to the problem so that was a part of it as well. So we had an administrative interest and practical interest to address this. If it is not only illegal but unconstitutional, what is the basis for this interest except to acknowledge the description. It would be an abrupt determination of the program that would be in trouble. There are some due process issues from what the administration is attempting to do. I understand everyone is concerned about the future of the recipients, and so am i. Thats why we are having a hearing to finthehearing to fint its important to remember we are in the situation because it created false promises so i hope all the government witnesses could say yes to that. The attorney general noted the concerns. We look forward to providing Technical Assistance to the legislative solution. Thank you for your testimony. I want to save time by reading their introductions. Get outside experts i hope to provide insight into what the American People expect from us and i want to thank the second panel for the courage and testifying whose 93yearold grandmother was raped and murdered although difficult to hear due to poor immigration hes also a constituent of mine. I look forward to the testimony today and the dialogue of the hearing. Shes been wit with with at ther since 92 developing an expertise in the policy and operations. Shes recently concluded that the department of justice funded a project where she studied the use of immigration Law Enforcement and the trends national suppression effortnatin addition to the work with the center she instructs senior law enforcemenlawenforcement officd seminars at Northwestern University center for Public Safety. Previously employed as a Foreign Service officer in the state department where she served in belgium, trinidad and then i forgot to say hes 64yearsold in Council Bluffs iowa he has a granddaughter who was brutally raped and murdered by an undocumented immigrant and they have five children and ten grandchildren. A medical student at the school of medicine and mount sinai new york city and cofounder in the organization that focuses on helping undocumented immigrants gain access to these healthcare services. We will start with you. Thank you for the invitation to testify today. I would like to discuss the impact and offer comments on how Congress Might move forward now that its been terminated. Theres no doubt the benefits for their families. The educational institutions benefited if we cannot ignore that there have been some adverse side effects for the American Economy, local communities and the immigration system. I think we also need have a similar sympathy for people who are affected by our tolerance of ilLegal Immigration and fear they will not get a jobs because their emplores are bypassing them. But i think we also need to have to a similar sympathy for people who are affected by our tolerance of ilLegal Immigration. People who fear they are not going to be able to get a job because their employers are bypassing legal workers in favor of illegal workers. People who live in on the border live in fear because the border is not secure and they cannot travel around their own property without fear for what they happen to them at the hands of the smuggling car tell. I have a friend in Providence Rhode island who was raped by criminal alien in a park who was released and allowed to keep employment because his employer didnt have to use e verify. Parents in brentwood, new york, are afraid because their children have to go to high schools where the ms 12 gang has proliferated and expanded because that gang and members took advantage of the lenient policies at the border. I talk to people in sanctuary cities who live in fear because these local policies result in the releasing of hundreds of immigrants. These are fears we need to take seriously also. Now, i do think that there should be an amnesty for people with daca and i think it should offer lawful permanent status. A green card and path to citizenship. But Congress Needs to slow down other parts. I estimate if 700 daca beneficiary receiver their cards they will sponsor an additional 1. 4 million relatives through our Legal Immigration system. That amounts to more than two million permanent residents who would be added to our country because of daca. So congress downsize the categories that exist for married adult, sons and daughters of u. S. Citizen and end the visa lottery that is obsolete. Thank you for the opportunity to testify and i look forward to your questions. Chairman grassley, Ranking Member feinstein, members of the judicial community, good afternoon. America is at a cross road. Illegal alien crimes are the result of lax treatment and Border Security in congress. We stand here as the rule of law intersects lawlessness and asks is congress willing to tell the American People that is has decided to regard lawlessness over lawfulness. I would like to tell you about my wifes late grandmother. They immigrated from italy, americas true dreamers. Her family settled in omaha, nebraska and her family learned english and worked hard and contributed to americas unique culture. She respected its nations and citizens by obeying our laws. These same laws if they have been in force might have saved louis or gram. On july 21st, 2013 one year after obamas unconstitutional daca gave millions of illegal aliens who guarantee they would not be subject to life. Gram was 93 and sleeping in bed until violently awoken by an 18 year old illegal national, with his body pinning her down, perez beat gram. Brutality is not adequate to describe what he did to gram. He shattered both orbital sockets, broke her nose in three places and broke several of her ribs. In pluming her face, he forced her teeth to push through her tongue and lip and the blood from that injury began filling her lungs. Perez then brutally raped and sodomized her. His attack was so severe in grams 12 foot by 14 foot bed room there was literally not one square food that did not contain a moderate amount of blood splatter. At 93 our familys dream of her living out her golden years was crushed. Four days later grams fell to her injuries. We were told not only was perez an illegal alien but had been deported twice. But he was working here in omaha. Thee was given special privileges to live and work where are most vulnerable citizens lived. We learned he was a member of a gang, here illegally poised to murder. He killed gram and our dreams became nightmares. One of the responsibilities of the constitution is to protect the people and in grams case it failed miserably. Sadly this story is repeated countless times across this nation. There are thousands of americans oishgsz lthsdz who have suffered at the hands of illegal aliens in the country and now the Government Asks us to welcome them with open arms and give them the same rights. When our government decides to condone those who broke the law we cease to be a nation of law and race toward a slope of tyranny and chaos. It will not stop with daca which experts say will reach over 2. 3 million work permits. The next question is what will we do with the parents of Illegal Immigrants . And what about those who have only committed minor crimes . What if their country of origin doesnt want them . The list of possibilities is endless. I remind the members of congress we work for we the people. There are some members of congress who understand this and dedicated their lives to people. Unfortunately, there are far too many others who are dedicated to furthering their own agenda. America first no longer matters for them. I stand here for we the people. Our fellow citizens are dying at the hands of those who should not be here while Congress Fails to respond adequately and instead bickers like children on the playground at recess. All the while the consequences of their deadly actions or inactions are ignored. American families are permanently separated from your loved ones while you talk about the flight of the daca children brought here illegally who by the way are up to 35 years old. Isnt it time you stop and did the job you were hired for . In closing, when you go home tonight, or this weekend, and you gather with your families around the dining room table, why dont you go ahead and decide what child, parent or grandparent are you willing to sacrifice so others here illegally can realize their dreams . Thank you and i will be happy to take your questions. Ms. Rojas . Thank you, mr. Chairman and ms. Feinstein for giving me the opportunity to testify. I am 28 years old and a recipient of the deferred action for Childhood Arrivals Program and among the 800,000 individuals approved for this program. The United States has been my home for 27 years. I considered myself an undocumented american. A proud californian and most recently a new yorker. I am currently studying medicine at the school of medicine at mount sinai in new york city and after graduation i intent to work in underserved communities as a doctor here in the United States. My family and i settled in fremont, california from mexico in 1990. I was less than a year old. I took my first steps in a two bed room apartment where i lived most of my childhood. Before i started school, i was so eager to speak in english i would call my family over the phone. I volunteered to teach second graders how to read. While attending college at uc berkeley my situation was difficulty. Commuting an hour to school and lacking documents to participate in activities. We lived in a nondescriptive apartment tucked away in the further est corner of the street. I always constantly worried about my future. When daca arrived in 2012, it was a relief to me and so many. It was a hope we could continue our educational endeavors. Resume our careers and force people to let themselves dream of a better future. I diligently filled out my application which included a background check. It felt surreal when my daca approval came in the mail. My sister and i held each other in tears. Daca lifted the ceiling to my education and daca was the key to securing a drivers license, obtaining employment, and gaining acceptance to medical school. Daca lifted me out of the shadows and i no longer lived in fear. In the year since the announcement, i have been able to finish college, publish in a top academic journal and co founded pre Health Dreamers which serves 800 undocumented youth like myself with aspirations in pursuing careers in health. My success is also rooted in what my family taught me. My mother in america learned english and obtained a ged and nursing degree. Watching her studying chemistry during the right while watching us taught me hard work. My father who worked in a variety of trades taught me humility and creativity were the best ways of success. President trump announced he was ending daca on september 5th. To me this means i will not be able to practice as a doctor. I dont know how i will survive after graduation. How will i pay my rent . Pay off my loans . How will i have income for foods and other basic necessities . In the past five years, 800,000 have submitted applications, undergone extensive background checks and completed other requirements. Because of daca people have been able to find employment, start families, buy homes, go to school, even start small businesses. Daca has allowed us to lead almost normal lives and give back to our communities. Now the fate of 800,000 individuals rests in your hands and we desperately need your help. If congress doesnt act soon and daca expires on march 5th, 2018 an estimated 1400 people like me will lose their daca every day. People will lose their jobs, their homes, and all these who depend on them will suffer too. I implore the president to continue the daca program until Congress Acts to pass a permanent solution. I am asking you to pass the dream ac. Legislation that provides a long Term Solution for all undocumented youth. I am 28 years old. Proud undocumented american and soon to be doctor. I have loved this country for as long as i can remember. For me, and so many others, this is the only country we know and the only place we belong. The clock is ticking so i ask you this. Will you fight to defend our dreams . Thank you. We will have five minute rounds. Businesses across the country have opted to use the e verify system to help comply with our Immigration Laws. In 2016, e verify reached half of the new hirees nationwide. It is a proven tool including myself hiring people for the office here in washington. That helps reduce incentives for ilLegal Immigration and same guards opportunities for workers. E verify works. Do you agree it is the most Cost Effective way to deal with this . We know the main reason people attempt to settle here is because they believe they can get a job. This is the most effective tool we have. The people who use it. My Organization Uses it. Like many other employers we find it easy to use and effective in avoiding hiring people who lack Work Authorization. I think that would probably be the single most effective improvement we could make to Immigration Enforcement and it is not really enforcement it is compliance. It works to deter ilLegal Immigration and will help change the equation that people are thinking of when they are deciding whether or not to come here illegally. If we take away that job magnet or reduce it. That will make the job of ice, and the Border Patrol and everyone else involved that much easier because fewer people will try to come here. I think you partly answered the second and third part of my question. But would you be able to quantify how much the unauthorized immigrant population would be reduced if mandatory e verify was record . There has been research on this and it was found by adopting things like e verify over five years illegal workers could be reduced by probably about 50 . We estimate half of the estimated 8 million illegal workers are working on the books for an employer usually using a stolen or fake Social Security number. That is the exact problem e verify gets to. Making sure we have a system of identifiers that have some integrity and protects the identity of americans. If we had enhanced Border Security, would it be effective without e verify . I think this prospect of being able to work here is what motivates people to pay a smuggler to try to get here illegally. I think that as long as we fail to address the attraction of the job market and the fact employers are bypassing legal workers and can get away with illegal hiring it creates an incentive for people to keep trying to come here. I dont think we will ever solve the border and visa overstay problem unless we adopt e verify and address illegal employment. Also for you, we hear a lot of estimates about the educational economic attainment of beneficiaries. But there isnt backed up by much research. We have robert gonzalez. 2000 daca survey. These eligible respondents resulted in 22 graduating college and 20 dropped out of high school. This is only a survey. If we consider some time of fix for Daca Recipients is important is it more important to have precise information . Had you been able to verify mr. Gonzalezs survey results . It does seem to mirror that. There is not a lot of research out there, you are right. I thought dr. Gonzalezs survey results were interesting and he acknowledges there are problems with the method interestingly enough it is collaborated by their other research that has been done using Census Bureau data specifically the Migration Policy Institute and found 1 5 of the daca eligibility were adults who had not finished high school. The income levels and access to public assistance findings have been collaborated with the census based research. People speculate and come up with proxies and try to use census burrows and take surveys. But we have information that would be interesting and i think helpful to Congress Moving forward to find out about actual recipients of daca. It should be encouraged to do that. They know where people live. They know their Educational Status and english attainment and criminal history. All these questions we have, you know, there are answers there within our own government that would be helpful. They could do a survey too that would be more robust with the randomly selected group of respondents. Senator feinstein . Let me ask, ms. Von, where do you find denise undeserving . Where do you find to blame her . I am not saying you blame her but in terms of a policy the immigration system blames her. She because of a parent was brought here. The parent probably had a hard time. Looked for a brighter future. Had a small child a year old and came to this country and this small child struggled and evolved into one, wonderful special person. How does the people like her, and they are truly like her, get the blame for other problems with our immigration . And i know what they are. I have been a mayor. I have seen what happened with kate steinly. There are a lot of problems out there. But this is a population that is contributing, is educating, is serving in the military, is proud and knows nothing else but america. Why should america reject them . Well, i dont think america should reject them. I dont think americans blame people with daca for this situation. I think that there are upset that this has led to the situation. We have about 12 Million People in the country illegally and they want to see this resolved to the extent possible and recognize there are moving parts. You are saying your testimony is really not about daca whether this is a good bill to put forward i think congress should take steps to address these status of people with daca but only if it also takes steps to balance the effects we see in chain migration and get to the root of the problem which is failure to enforce our Immigration Laws. So Going Forward we enforce our laws and address the fiscal costs that are inevitable. If i understand you correctly, then you are saying daca isnt the problem. If we can address our laws such as increasing the Border Patrol, such as seeing there is practical and Adequate Security on the border, perhaps e verify. Whatever the mechanisms are that you would be satisfied . Well, there were some problems with daca. The fact it was improperly implemented from congress. That by executive order is done now. And also the careless implementation does have to be addressed amnesty and recognize as much as there are many wonderful people who received it there were mistakes made in the issuing of benefits to people who should not have received them. Well, there have been revocations. Some 2,000 of them. There has been that introspection and examination and i think that needs to be recognized. Yes, i agree. That is why i cant be a guaranteed conversion from daca status to green card without some review to make sure that the application wasnt fraudulent or other problems with it. But i think the agency can deal with that. I think Congress Needs to make sure that uscis connects enough in fees so that other legal immigrants are not subsidizing any Legalization Program or amnesty. I think all of this is possible but i think we need to recognize that just simply converting people with daca to green cards is not going to address the underlying problems that are to blame for this situation. I understand. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Senator durbin. I am saddened by the story you told and sorry your family suffered such a tragic loss. I can assure you there is not a single approach which we have considered for any of those Daca Recipients that didnt involve a criminal background check. We do not want people who are going to commit Violent Crimes in this country and certainly dont want them coming here and expected to be treated royally. That is unacceptable. I worked for six months on the comprehensive Immigration Reform. Did you know it included e verify . Yes, that is why i have Hopes Congress will include it in legislation. We cant put on the back of dreamers and daca is comprehensive Immigration Reform. People came out of the shadows, paid fees, went through a criminal background check and turned in the information so we could monitor them on a renewal basis. That was part of e verify. It passed the senate with 68 votes. 14 republicans voted for it but they would not take it up in the republican house. In order to pass it, we put more Border Security than anyone has seen in the history of the bill. I thought he overdid it but to get the votes to pass it we did it. We made the commitments so it was balanced Border Security on one hand. E verify and registration of those undocumented and the dreamers. It was comprehensive. It is critical as far as i am concerned that we do comprehensive Immigration Reform. Not just for all the reasons you mentioned but because we need a system that works. If you think about chain migration and we say under daca you had to be under the age of 16 when you came to the United States then chain migration for ultimate dreamers and daca members will not include their children. Any children they have are already born in the United States. So when you put that in as a category of there are going to be two new immigrants for every daca recipient dont include their children. That doesnt work. It violates the laws of america and violates the laws of biology. I did not include them in the calculation. It is really parents, spouses and relatives of those relatives that were calculated. The children of people with daca are citizens. When it gets beyond parents, spouses and children you get into a long, long waiting list. Sometimes 20 years before you would be considered to come to this country. Parents come in in unlimited numbers. Besides parents, spouses and children. It is the other siblings and such that have to wait forever and ever. That is how it is already. Mr. Rojas marquez, there are 28 medical students in chicago, if they dont have daca extended they cannot apply for residencies so they can become specialists because you have to be able to legally work in the United States a lot to be a residence. Those medical students are saying if you dont do anything about daca our medical education comes to a halt. We cant proceed to apply for residencies. Is this one of the things you are thinking of as we speculate the impact . That is exactly one of my Major Concerns in terms of, you know, my own career. So for me i finished medical school it would be in 2019 and my daca would expire by then. So for me, you know, there is no opportunity to apply for residency, to seek employment of any type. Most of us are from states that have portions of our states desperate for doctors. And that is where i want to work in. That is where we want you to work. So i hope we can get the job done. Thank you, mr. Chairman and thank you, panel. Mr. Marquez, do you fear deportation after march 5th if congress doesnt act . I absolutely fear deportation for most of my life that has been my reality; fearing deportation and when daca arrived and i received my own daca it was a sigh of relief. I am eligible for the renewal so hopefully i will be able to have my daca until two years from the renewal date but after then for me it is a terrifying time. Were you here for the testimony of the earlier panel in i was. You heard the testimony there are no plans to deport using the information that the daca participants provided to government. Does that lesson your fears of deportation . It doesnt because i hear on the news every day of families that are being separated, of individuals being deported. So i dont have, you know, a security sense it seems like this is a discretionary in terms of enforcement. You know, i feel like i could be in any situation where i could land in the hands of ice and have no protection in terms of being able to stay in the country. There was acknowledgment ebon if there are no plans to use the information that could change. So i share your concern that all of the Daca Recipients, even those with extensions, i dont know what kind of protection extensions would provide. Attorney general sessions when he announced the ending of the daca and i quote denied jobs to hundreds of thousands of americans by allowing these immigrants to take jobs and he said quote it would save lives and quote protect communities. Do you know of any factual basis for these statements . I am training to be a doctor to save lives. So for the people, myself and the people i know in the organization that i co founded which includes 800 individuals across 42 states we are training and aspiring to be Health Professionals so i think the opposite of some of those remarks. Are you familiar with the study that was done by professor Roberto Gonzalez regarding daca . I have reviewed some of the results. Wasnt the main point of this study is that Daca Recipients have been able to continue their education, increase financial stability, build their careers and boost the economy even if in his study it indicates there are a number of daca eligible young people who stopped going to school, who didnt pursue higher paying jobs because of the very situations that they were in and when they became Daca Recipients then they went back to school and were able to pursue other jobs. Isnt that what he says in the study . Yes. And i have a new study by the tr for American Progress, the national Immigration Law center and this was conducted recently in august of 2017. It was a little larger study. 3,063 respondents in the United States and district of columbia and similar finding in terms of education. 45 of respondents were in school. 72 pursuing a bachelor degree or higher. For those currently in school, 94 of respondents said because of daca i have pursued Educational Opportunities i previously could not. And there was an estimate that ending daca would result in the loss of 463 billion from for the national gdp over the next decade. And 91 of respondents were currently employed. The Cato Institution are you aware they said eliminating daca and this is a cato estimate that it will cost the American Economy 283 billion over the next 10 years. Are you familiar with or aware of the cato . I am not familiar with the cato study. Well, i think it points out that the actual evidence based on these reports indicates that Daca Recipients are contributing members of the community and not out committing crimes and doing heinous things and in fact i want to thank the daca participants were the contributions they are making to our community. And i certainly extend my sympathy to you for what happened to your grandmother. None of us is sitting here thinking that having undocumented people do those kind of crimes and not be prosecuted is acceptable to anyone. I speak as an immigrant. We talk about chain migration. I have to say that immigrants to succeed in this country need parent and grandparents to come because everybody is working. That has been my experience. Senator blumenthal. Thank you. I want to join and express my sympathy. I think all the members of our committee feel that you deserve our condolences and sympathy. I think this issue often is very much clouded with emotion. Justifiable emotion. And i think that we are all grateful to you for being here today. I would like to ask ms. Von are you familiar with the studies that have just in cited . Yes. Do you agree with them . No. I dont think the center for American Progress study was done that its findings are necessarily reflective of the larger population. Would you degree that the Daca Dreamers contribute a great deal to our economy . I am sure some do. I think the daca population spans the whole spectrum of Educational Attainment and Socio Economic status and so on. Looking at them in the aggregate, wouldnt you agree that they are a major net plus to our economy . I dont think there is enough information to show that. Do you have any indication or otherwise. Do you have studies to show otherwise . The only one i know of that surveyed in an academically sound way people who had daca was the harvard study and he believed his findings skewed in higher levels of education than he felt was present in the daca population. Was that professor gonzalez . Yes. Because my time is limited i want to move to another topic. I am very troubled by the administrations approach to daca in effect throwing its hands to congress and washing its hands. I believe congress has an obligation and we have a bipartisan consensus there is a need to provide a path forward for people who are living here and have come here without any decision on their part and lived here for all of their lives and contributed greatly to the economy and culture and their communities. I am also concerned about the fairness issue of their having come forward to volunteer information with the promise that it would not be used against them. The other day senator harris asked the acting secretary of Homeland Security, elaine duke, whether this personal information would be shared with ice and she said quote i cant inequivalent promise that. This morning we heard at least one of the Panel Members say that this information will in fact not be used or shared with ice. That leaves at best confusion. Wouldnt you agree with me that there is certainly fundamental unfairness in using this information against these individuals to locate and deport them and possibly also in fact, i think likely a due process issue under the constitution in their having come forward with an explicit promise of the government but then is betrayed . Me . Well, the problem is that the Obama Administration really could not make that promise with any certainty because the policy they created was in properly done. Now, if the daca policy is allowed to wind down without congress being able to agree on how to move forward i dont expect and i dont see any sign and it would be logistically difficulty. So i think it will happen that all of a sudden people who had daca are going to become priority. That doesnt make sense. It would not have made sense a year ago to talk about this mass deportation of 800,000 people. But that is the reality we face. I dont think that is a realistic likelihood. But i do think it is fair to the public to preserve that opportunity for ice to possibly use information that is in uscis which is an agencies in the department of Homeland Security in their repository if is necessary for a compelling reason in the same way that local Law Enforcement agents where i live might have to go into the drivers license database to find out my address to arrest me if they had to. But if there were no compelling Public Safety threat and you used the word compelling if there were no such compelling Public Safety threat would you agree it would be plain unfair and unamerican to use this information that was gained by the government after a promise that it would not be used and you may say that it was unwise or maybe uncertain for the administration to make that promise but it was paid by the government of had United States of america. Actually in all public statements about daca under the Obama Administration they always said it was exercised on a case by case basis and that was not a legal status. That it was thoroughly their discretion to put that benefit on the people. So with all due respect i am not sure they made that promise. My time is expired. I thank you, mr. Chairman. Senator coons. I would like to thank both panels and witnesses for your testimony before us today. I had the pleasure of visiting with a number of dreamers in delaware earlier this year. Daca recipients who are legal in every way i can imagine except for their status. They were studying at Del State University or delaware state. Stefanie gonzalez is working hard to become a Law Enforcement officer. Deara who wants to be a Pediatric Oncologist and we support them and it is possible were them to achieve the american dream. Ms. Rojas, i want to congratulate you on your accomplishments and dedication to serving. How did you experience growing up in the United States undocumented influence your decision to become a physician . Well, being low income and very limited access to health care. My family and i struggled in terms of seeing a doctor regularly. So this is something that has been in my family that i saw and also in communities around me just limited access to health care and as someone who is able i was fluent in spanish and you know, i really connect with immigrant communities and other communities as well. I feel like, you know, i just want to be able to serve others so that people and communities are healthy and safe. So, i feel like it is, you know, the values that my family instilled in me to give back and persevere is what brought me to being a doctor and i only hope to be able to serve. Help me better understand, if you would, how your life has changed since the introduction of daca and how your life has changed and the lives of others you have gotten to know through the pre Health Dreamers programs has changed as a result of its current uncertainty . So, in terms of the new announcement or from gaining daca . Would you clarify at what point how our lives changed because of daca or because of this announcement . Both. Okay. Well, because of daca i can truly say in every sense i came out of the shadows. I feared leaving my apartment and you know was always very frightened i was followed. I lived with lot of uncertainty day to day and in terms of my future i was studying at uc berkeley and always wanted to give back and when i thought about my graduation, i wouldnt have employment opportunities. Even in berkeley there were internship programs and other programs i wanted to apply to but i couldnt because of my immigration status. For us, and so many others, it truly lifted us out of the shadows to be able to, you know, live, really almost normal lives in terms of our day to day lives. But i think it was an opportunity for us to participate in programs, you know, gain access to job ufshlthsdz opportunities, and also, you know, for example, buying homes and other students that were unreachable. These are things i never dreamed of being able to achieve when i was, you know, in college and before then. So it completely changed our lives and turned us around. You know, i am so grateful the day i got my daca. So this announcement was difficult to hear. Everything i worked for disappeared in the blink of an eye. I know it is so devastating and people are wondering should they ess apply to graduate programs tsdz anymore . Sort of being at a loss for hope and uncertainty that is pervasive among me and the community i know. It has been absolutely devastating. We dont know what is going to happen. We are really looking toward congress to find a solution. Thank you. As you have heard from a number of senators on both sides of the aisle we hope we will be able to find a way toward a resolution that undresses unsettled issues that gives certainty to you and other dreamers. It is my hope we will embrace the moment sooner rather than later and move forward and give predictability to those who have contributed in our future. We will be done in about two minutes. I want to thank, of course, all the witnesses because this has been a very important hearing and especially you folks who are what we call the nongovernment panel. You traveled here for your own expense. The committee appreciates the testimony from all witnesses and your thoughts are critical as we considered a pathway forward on daca. We held this hearing in order to consider how best to move forward in addressing the problems created by president obamas unconstitutional executive action. We heard from the government and outside experts and advocate for our best to balance this delicate issue. On one hand we have to consider the status of hundreds of thousands of young, unauthorized immigrants and we have to respect americans who dont want to see the country engage in continuous cycle of ilLegal Immigration. Half of americans only support daca if it includes increased Border Security. There is a way to address this problem but it requires compromise. We have great empathy for these young dreamers. We want to ensure they are treated fairly but we have to make sure we are not addressing the same exact problem 10 15 years from now. The only way to do that is fix the nation borders and beef up the interior enforcement. Many solutions have garnered great bipartisan support. There is general agreement without doubt about rooting out the criminal elements. Addressing those problems alongside daca shouldnt be political. It is just plain old fashion commonsense. Fixing daca and our enforcement problems together isnt just common sense but it also lays the foundation for a future lawful decision. But we cannot have that conversation until we secure the border. I look forward to working with my colleagues on this committee and probably people not on this committee and both in the house and senate so when a bipartisan, bicamel way as we consider a path forward i hope the reputation of this committee over the last congress in which we voted out 31 bills and all non partisan and 18 got to president obama that we have the ability in this committee to do that. I think the record of this committee shows bipartisanship and that is of course what it is going to take to get this job done. With that statement, i conclude the hearing except to say the record will remain open for one week for member statements and questions for the witnesses and i know that i have more questions that i will be submitting and i expect others will have questions as well. For you three here before us, thank you very much for your patients and everybody that has been so cooperative in the audience. Thank you for helping us expedite this hearing and for your just being nice about everything. Thank you very much. Adjourned. [i