Process took so long hes no longer eligible he feel turned 21, his father cannot petition for him to become a citizen. He has lived his whole life in this country since he was 3, his father is an american citizen, hes an undocumented immigrant. The only solution for him is the dream act. Only countrythe i know. My family and friends are here and everything i know as america. The dream act is important to me and many others like me who are in the same situation. We have the resources to help this country greatly but dont have a paper to do this. We Hope Congress will put political issues aside and pass the dream act. Yanid is right. Will america be better off if we deported him . The answer is very obvious. Chauns ago, 1992, min parents brought him to the United States at four years old and overcame obstacles to complete his education. In 2009, he graduated from the university of california with a bachelors degree in neuroscience. Heres what he said. My dream is to make several contributions to science and become a physicians assistant as a career and eventually a teacher as well. I ave great aspirations, but want norment, civility stability and he lives in california with his wife who is an american citizen. He spoke about what it would mean to him if the dream act became law. Imagine the countless numbers of individuals to contribute as lawabiding successful individuals who live life with a sense of strength and month atlanta. Abraham lincoln once said mercy bears fruit than strict justice and this is more true. I have a great amount of hope and belief in this country and one day we will see the dream act enacted into law. His is his statement another child brought here from dreamer. Was an earlier mandeep. He was brought here 14 years ago. Beautiful little child. Mandeep has been allacademic allstar. Honors premed student at university of california at differences and majored in physiology and behavior. She is dedicated to Public Service. She found one dollar for life, a National Poverty relief organization. She was voted the member of her class most likely to save the world, imagine. Most likely to save the world. At her college, mandeep is the copresident of stand an antigenocide group. She has so much to offer our country. She wrote i consider the United States my only home. This is where i belong. My dream is to become a pediatrician so i can treat the helpless among us. Remainto serve i wish to in the United States so i can make a positive difference and give back to the community that has given me so much. How beautiful. You see the theme of the dreamers. Wanting to give back to america, appreciative of the opportunities they have received here, the mentoring, the friendship, the love, wanting to give back. Necata. Her parents brought the family to the United States from the malawi. Country of they came here legally and they had work permits. John, an ordained christian minister worked as a hospice counselor, joan worked as an accountant. When they filed to file papers to stay here permanently. Finally in 2009, john and joan were granted legal permanent residents. But by that time, their children were adults and unable to obtain legal status. Here is what she said about being deported. The looming fear of everything i know here in the United States, removed to the other side of the world is crippling and said i cant imagine my life in africa, im an american, i pledge allegiance to the flag. Would be terrible to send them back. One was 11 months. In 2007, one graduated graduated from the university of cincinnati with a degree in finance and then worked as an Accounting Firm and dreams of becoming a certified public accountant. She explained what america means to her. When you say, the American Dream, all around the world, they know what youre talking about. People have never been to our shores eaten our food or spoken our language have heard of a prosperous nation that above all else grants freedom and right to alls to all of its people. She graduated from university of cincinnati with a university of cincinnati. Dominique graduated with a degree in chemistry and began working at the University Hospital and Jewish Hospital in the clinical studies assistant. They planned to apply to medical school and she said i dream being a doctor. Would america be better off if we deported them . Of course not. The dream act gives them a chance. Let me introduce to you to another dreamer, manji. He was brought to the United States from bangladesh in 1991. He was five. As he grew up, he immersed himself in the study of computers and technology. I have had an intense passion for technology. Middle school that led to spending my nights constructing model airplanes and generators. In high school, i fell in love with computers and created online newspaper for my school. He did not know about his immigration status until he was applying for college and asked his parents what to say about his status and thats when he learned he he was undocumented. In 2008, he gauted from the university of North Carolina in chapel hill. Very soon, he began to be courted by the Technology Industry and offered the job as a lead engineer for a Startup Company in Silicon Valley. His prospects will be limited because of his immigration status. The deem act would give him a chance to pursue his dream and contribute his talent to the country he calls home. I i have turned several great obs from several companies because of my status. The dream act would let me take my passion for technology to the next level by allowing me to move to Silicon Valley, pursue my dreams as an internet entrepreneur. So we have someone like with his talents and entrepreneurship, his passion and his intellect, what a resource to our country. I keep asking the question, would america be better off if we deported him . Of course not. The. R. T. Was brought to United States when she was 11 and settled to a suburb of detroit. They came to the United States legally. Shortly before arriving in america, her mother filed an application to stay in the United States. She quickly learned english and became an academic star and graduated from gross Point High School with 4. 05 great point average and she was on the track team and advanced Scholar Award as a member of the National Honor society. She attended the university of detroit and studied to be an electrical engineer and grade point average of 3. 98 and completed two internships at engineering companies. She is from albania. She is volunteering at homeless shelters, tutoring programs. Listen to what her friend said about her. Im humbled by her willingness and desire to serve. I have gone to the same church. She spends hours tutoring kids and volunteering with the junior high sunday school. And children run up to the church because of the love they receive. It would be a good use to deport her . Of course not. Again, there is so much discussion in the United States about the need for more young people to study known as stem. We add the arts in there, steam. We issue hundreds of thousands to bring foreign students. She is a straight a student in the stem field and doesnt need a visa and home grown fall ent. She came to capitol hill to speak on a briefing on the dream act. Im a typical story. There are thousands of stories out there like mine. Please support the dream act so students like me dont have to leave. Were worth it. She is right. She and thousands of others, hundreds of thousands of others re worth it. A 23yearold, Keith Ellisons district. Was born in kenya and came to minnesota at age 11 and didnt known he was undocumented until he graduated from high school. Imagine the maturity of these kids. And carrying this weight. Growing up is hard enough, right . But carrying this. He wanted to pursue college education. It was a grueling experience. Fter daca, he graduated from st. Cloud State University with a degree in psychology and management. And he will be studying at andrews university. He wants to be the chaplain of the United States senate one day and can only do that if the dream act passes. Maybe the house, if we were given the chance might rise to the level. Our Congressional Black Caucus mentioned earlier that the chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus the Congressional Black Caucus has been involved in this issue and gave me these statistics. 5,302 people from jamaica. And 2,095 Daca Recipients from nigeria, just to name a few. D more from africa, but just named the nigerian here. And i thank them for their work in the activities along with this. We have another visitor from albania. Things are tough there. Our distinguished colleague, mr. Elliott engel has been albanias best friend in the congress, but he could attest there was cause to leave in an earlier day. Ola castle, brought to the United States in 1998 when she was five years old. She went to high school in warren michigan and value dick torian of her class and and took advanced placement a and had a 4. 4 grade point average. She was the only varsity in Cross Country and tennis teams. She was treasurer of the Student Council and treasurer of the National Honor society at her school and tutors children who are learning english. Ola was a member of the homecoming court, i dont have her picture here, but participated in every way. She was accepted in the Honors Program at the university of michigan, where she would study premed. Heres what she said about her dreams for the future. Aspire to become a surgical oncologist, but more importantly i intend to work for patients who cannot afford the fees accompanying lifesaving surgery, patients that are denied the medical treatment they deserve. My goal is not to increase my bank account but decrease preventable deaths. How beautiful. Thank you for sharing your stories. It takes great deal of courage for these people to share their stories. The intimacy of the challenges and the personal challenges they face. We thank them for their generosity of spirit, as well as their courage. Steve lee came to the United States when he was his parents brought him here when he was 11. He study at city college of San Francisco where he majored in nursing, was a leader in Student Government. Heres what steve said. My dream is to become a registered nurse at San Francisco general and to be a Public Health advocate. I want to be able to give back to my community by raising awareness about Preventive Care and other health care issues. Im well on my way to achieving my dream, he writes. By passing the dream act, ill be able to achieve these goals and contribute to health. Could we use more nurses in this country . We sure could. In fact, the United States imports thousands of foreigners foreign nurses every year because we have such a huge nursing shortage. So why would we consider sending teve lee back . Tulo ulomni was brought to the United States from nigeria when she was a child. As a child, tulo dreams of becoming an engineer. She graduated from high school at the top of her class. She won a full scholarship to a Prestigious University in virginia. In 2002 she graduated with a degree in chemical engineering. Back in 2011, at a press Conference Announcing the reintroduction of the dream act, heres what tol usaid. The dreements of my youth have tulo said. The dreams of my youth have stalled, yes. But my country still needs me. Passing the dream act is critically important to me and to so many others. I dont believe im entitled to anything more than what this great nation has taught me. That we all have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Imagine tulo is right. Thousands of immigrant students in the United States were brought to the United States as children. It was not their decision to come to this country. But they grew up here and this is their home. The fundamental premise of the dream act is that we should not punish children for their parents actions. This is not the american way. Instead the dream act says to these students, america will always give you a chance. And i say to their parents, thank you for bringing these dreamers to america. Were in your debt. For the courage it took for you to take the risk, physically, politically, in every way, to do so. David cho. David was brought to the United States from south korea when he was 9. Since then, david has been a model american. Hes had a 3. 9 g. P. A. In high school. He attended ucla where he attained a bachelors of arts in international finance, with 3. 6 g. P. A. As you can see, david has also is also the leader of the ucla marching band. Theres a picture of him. But the record does not the leader of the ucla marching band. David then obtained a masters degree in Public Policy with a g. P. A. Of 3. 9. And was the you can ucla commencement speaker. Hes worked as a Business Technology analyst at the lloyd consulting, where hes earned the highest possible performance rating representing performance in the top 5 of all analysis. Today he works in business and technology, consulting as a sales force scrum master and public project manager. Thank you, david, for your contribution to our country. Michul was brought to the United States by his parents in 1991 when he was 9. I want to make this point, mr. Speaker. This bill, when i mentioned about senator durbin, he introduced the dream act in 2001. Its 17 years later. So some of these children have grown up. But some of them that were addressing came to the United States in the 1990s. And so 17 years later we still havent been able to take care of the children . They were very little children when they came. Some of them are still well, theyre still young. But they came, some of them, as i said, 11 month, 6 months, babies. This michul came when he was 9est. Grad from high school with a 9. He graduated from high school with a 4. 2 g. P. A. He graduated from college. With support from the korean american community, he was able to graduate from dental school. He became a dentist. And heres what he wrote. After spending the majority of my life here, with all my friended and family here, friends and family here, i could not simply pack my things and go to a country i barely remember. Im willing to accept whatever punishment is deemed fitting for that crime. But let me just stay and pay for it. Im begging for a chance to prove to everyone that im not a waste of a human being. That i am not a criminal set on leaching off taxpayer money. Please give me a chance to serve my community as a dentist, to be a giver rather than a receiver. Thank you, michul. Senator durbin has sent over some stories and im going to read some of them. When yanuk diof was 8, his father, a diplomat from the african country of senegal, brought his family to the United States. Unfortunately yanu ks parents separated and his father s ks parents yanuk parents separated and his father left the United States. When he left the United States, yanuk lost his legal stat to us live in this country. He grew up in status to live in this country. He grew up in maryland. In high school he was a member of the National Honor society. Also volunteered weekly at a homeless shelter and organized soccer tournaments for three years to raise money. For the red cross for earthquake relief in haiti. Mind you, hes from senegal and hes raising money for earthquake relief in haiti. God bless him. After high school, he continued his education, he earned an Associates Degree in business and Montgomery College wreffs on the deans list. He then transferred to the university of maryland where hes working on a bachelors degree in business management. He runs an achievers mentoring program, an after School Program , to thank advises middle and High School Students on how to get into college. And be successful in college. Very valuable mentoring. Hes also a hes also a volunteer at united we dream, the Largest Organization of undocumented students in the country. May i just pause for a moment to commend united we dream. They have been so spectacular, so dignified, so prestigious in how they have protected the dreamers case and enabled dreamers to present their own case. Yanuk was a leader in the campaign to pass the m