Immigration have we found a good reason to spend our limited Immigration Enforcement resources on dreamers. The premise of daca was and continues to be that we need permanent comprehensive Immigration Reform. But until then, dreamers, who contribute to our society, should be allowed to come out of the shadows and lead healthy, productive lives. Rather than pursuing these young americans, our Immigration Enforcement resources should focus on practical measures that make us safe, not wasteful and symbolic projects like a border wall. We share apprehensions of more illegal entrants. We should incentivize Legal Immigration and make it feasible for people to come here and pursue better opportunities. And im eager to work with my colleagues to craft a tough but fair and comprehensive Immigration Reform package that incorporates good ideas from both sides of the aisle. Until then, however, we accomplish nothing by forcing hundreds of thousands of families who live in fear and regret ever trusting our country enough to register for daca in the first place. Too much of this debate is driven by President Trumps apparent refusal to accept basic truths about who this actually affects and what his decision means for our country. His administrations rhetoric suggests that deporting dreamers will make us safer and somehow restore the rule of law and order. But these arent the facts of the matter. First, today, unauthorized immigration continues to climb as it has every year since its peak in 2007. Second, and not without controversy, president Obamas Administration deported a record five million undocumented immigrants, particularly violent felons. These were important steps. But weve learned that enforcement alone doesnt solve practical problems for people like dreamers and their families and their employers. Moreover, deporting dreamers does nothing to make us safer. Dreamers qualify for daca precisely because they havent committed a serious crime. And putting them with criminals shows they are prone to criminality when the evidence shows the opposite is true. Research from the conservative Cato Institute have concluded that immigrants tend to commit fewer crimes than people born in the United States. And u. S. Census data shows that among adult males, immigrants are onehalf to onefifth as likely to be incarcerated here. Just as insidious as this persistent myth that dreamers are somehow harming our economy or taking jobs from american citizens, we can and should debate what kind of Immigration Reform will best support our economy. But there is no credible support for the griewment argument that dreamers harm our economy or. According to the center for american progress, ending daca would result in an estimated loss of over 460 billion in our g. D. P. Over the next decade, including an annual loss of over 60 million a year in my home state of rhode island. We know from experience that deporting employed immigrants doesnt raise wages. In fact, many jobs lost tend to go unfulfilled. Because of President Trumps actions, families of dreamers will sit at their Kitchen Table in the coming months and struggle needlessly with questions of how to feed their children and keep a roof over their heads now that the administration has forced mom or dad out of work or out of the country. These are american families, and doing this to them is the opposite of putting america first. Mr. President , it is our responsibility to protect our country from economic harm and to uphold our ideals and commitments, and that means keeping faith with dreamers and their families. We should put ourselves in their shoes and remember how each of our families came to this nation and worked to achieve the American Dream for themselves and their children and their childrens children. I applaud senators graham and durbin for introducing the bipartisan dream act of 2017. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this important legislation on our way to a meaningful debate on comprehensive Immigration Reform. I hope that we can find the will to come together and swiftly pass this legislation to strengthen our nation, keep our economy growing, and keep faith with our best ideals. With that, mr. President , i would yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call a senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse mr. President , i would request that any pending quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse mr. President , i am here to speak about President Trumps decision to shut down the daca program, socalled dream program, that allows children who were brought here by their parents, often very young, and who grew up here, and are now as far as they know full americans this is their home to not be thrown out of their adopted country and sent home to a place that they do not know. All because of what their parents did when they were still children. You dont even hold children accountable for contracts that they enter into. You have to be an adult to be held accountable for a contract that you enter into and yet apparently this president is willing to take these children nchts children, break up their families, send them to a country they do not know, all because of a decision that was made by their parents, in some cases, when these kids were infants. I have spoken to these kids, they are generally called dreamers, who have no memory of living any place but this country. I dont know about the presiding officer, but it is hard for me to scroll back and have any concrete memory of when i was 1, 2, 3 years old. Here are kids growing up in american families, schools, and playing American Sports and growing up as a part of our culture and now, for reasons that really defy humane explanation, he wants to cast a cloud over about 800,000 children, now kurnd into now turned into adults in many cases, and those who were looking forward to what they could do when they came of age to get into the daca program. We have over 100,000 approved in the daca program in rhode island. Were pretty proud of them. They have served in the military and had jobs around in the country. 91 are employed, pay taxes and contribute to Social Security. When we had the immigration debate, thats what we said we wanted people to do pay your taxes, get a job, pay into Social Security, support yourself and support the system around you. Well, theyve done that. But because of a decision that they did not even make, a decision that under american law they would be incapable of making because they are not adults, this shadow of punishment and family disruption has been put over them by perhaps the least humane person ever to hold the office of president of the United States. And if this doesnt prove that proposition, theres plenty more that does. I understand that our leader has urged speaker ryan and majority leader mcconnell to get senator durbins and senator grahams dream act up for a vote. I think it will pass. I think it will pass with more than 60 votes. I think we, at least the decent members of the senate, can lift that cloud of fear, threat, and anxiety. I think we should. I think we should do it soon. And if majority leader mcconnell is not interested in bringing this to the floor, i understand that senator schumer has made it pretty clear he will attach this bill to some other measure as we move forward this year. And i completely support that. This president said that he loves these kids and wanted to approach this issue with a big heart. The white house, which last i heard the president of the United States runs, put out talking points telling these kids to get ready to depart. Get ready for departure from this country. Really . Thats the big heart, to threaten these kids who played by the rules and have ton what the and have done what the United States government has asked them to do, to get ready to depart because why . Because of some crime they committed . No because their parents brought them here no. Because their parents brought them here as kids. Gene came here from peru. He was brought to the United States by his parents when he was months old. Hes 23 now fvment he were now. If he were to go back to peru, he would have to go back to a village that he has never lived, that is not in a safe area that he does not know because he has been here for 22 years 22 and change if he is 23 now. Rodman came here at 10 months old. Rhode island has a vibrant his family came here to start a better life, start a Small Business and succeed. Rodrigez doesnt remember portugal. He has a computer degree a College Computer science degree. He says the u. S. Is his home. What is the gain for our country in telling rodrig go, with his Computer Science degree from college, he has to go back to portugal because at 10 months old his parents brought him here in search of a better life. Where the heck is the justice or decency in that . These are all rhode island kids that im talking about. There are hundreds of thousands of stories around the country llesdin salazar from guatemala was brought here by her parents at age 7. Were going to break up that family and send her back to guatemala because why . Because at 7 she didnt successfully talk her parents out of bringing her here . Maybe she should have left her parents then. Boy, that would be illegal to go to the United States without the proper paperwork. I cant be a part of that. Im staying in guatemala, you go. Is that the expectation that we have have that we have for a 7yearold that we would now punish her with deportation and with breaking up her family . Thats the big thats the big heart of this president . Ill tell you what one of her memories is. She doesnt remember much of guatemala, but she does remember sitting in her living room with her parents watching president obama announce the daca program. She says that her family cried tears of joy when that happened. At last a path forward from this problem that was not of her own making. She does not understand why the United States is giving so many children an education here and then sending them back to other countries, breaking up their families, and i dont either. It makes no sense. Chris rivera came to rhode island from el salvador. She came when she was 8. So maybes that old so maybe thats old enough that she should have talked her parents out of coming here. She lived first in maryland. Interestingly she went to the same school that the president s son now attends. She came to rhode island, graduated from college. She is currently at medical school at Brown University. She is obviously somebody we want to get out of our country. She is scared. She feels exposed. Id like to know id like to have one person come to the senate floor and tell me what chrisa rivera did at age 8 that was so wrong that we are willing to take somebody who will have a Brown University medical School Degree and throw them out of our country for no other reason. Explain that to me. Ill tell you. Theres a lot thats embarrassing about the way our president behaves, but this is pretty bad particularly in the wake of the way he behaved after nazi flags were paraded through charlottesville, virginia, the city of Thomas JeffersonsGreat University. He spent the next couple of days winking at white supremists nazi types, equating their behavior with the behavior of the protesters who came out. I would hope that if neonazis were walking through providence, i would go out and protest. Am i as wrong as the nazis . I dont think so but President Trump appears to think so. It was just two sides having an evenhanded dispute. I dont think so. When the president reacted to charlottesville the way he did, he was winking at the worst impulses in our society bigotry, hatred, discrimination of people based on color and religion, things that we have fought back against for generations. Fighting back against those evils is part of what makes us americans. Does President Trump fight back against those evils . Just a little no, just a little wink. Keep up it it up boys. I dont mind that much. No difference between you and people who come out outraged to see nazi flags flying in charlottesville, virginia. And now this. And now this. Who the hell President Trump talking to when he does this . Who gets the wink time that . This time . If this isnt another wink to bigotry and hatred and discrimination, i dont know what is because you cannot explain to me why an 8yearold who is such a good person that she will come to a new country and come all the way to Brown Universitys medical school is to be punished for not having broken up with her parents at age 8 when they brought her to this country. It makes no sense. So i see the distinguished senior senator from illinois here on the floor. The battle for the daca program and for the dream act has been a cause of his political life. There is no person in this chamber to whom more credit is due for this than senator durbin. So with great respect, as well as affection, i will yield to him the floor. Mr. Durbin mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from illinois. Mr. Durbin mr. President , i want to thank my colleague from rhode island, senator whitehouse for his kind words, and i come to the floor to join in with a dozen or more of my colleagues who were here earlier to talk about the situation that we now face. Senator whitehouse is correct. Is this an issue that is very personal to me. Its one that dates back to the year 2001, 16 years ago. It was a time when we received a call in my office in the city of chicago, and the person on the other end was with a program called the merit Music Program. And she said, ive got a problem with one of my students, and i need your help. Well, the merit Music Program is a special opportunity for young people in chicagos public schools, particularly from lowincome families, to be trained in a Musical Instrument. And it really does free of charge and Amazing Things happen. Every student who is part of the merit Music Program goes to college, every single one of them. They learn selfesteem. They learn a Musical Instrument and it shows. Their lives are transformed. Well, she told us the story of one of these students. Her name is teresa lee. Teresa lee was born in korea and brought to the United States by her mom and dad when she was 3 years old. They came through brazil before they came to chicago, but they settled in chicago, and her mom and dad raised her and her brother and sister. They were not well off at all. In fact, they were poor. Mom worked in a dry cleaners establishment, which is fairly common in chicago. Korean americans probably work there more than any other group. Her father was an aspieferring aspiring preacher who wanted to open a church for a korean population but it never seemed to materialize. Mom worked extra hard. The kids went to public schools. And at age 12 teresa lee heard about the merit Music Program, signed up for it, went in and fell in love with playing the piano. She turned out to be a prodigy. She was extraordinary. By the time she was ready to graduate high school, they said youve got to apply to a music school. Well, she wasnt sure. Nobody she knew had gone to college, but she started to fill out the application and ran into the question about her Social Security number. Turned to her mother and said what am i supposed to do about this . Her mother said i dont know. After we brought you to the United States at the age of 2, we didnt file any papers. What can we do . Well, they reached out to merit Music Program, and merit Music Program said lets call durbins office. So they called my office and contacted my case worker whose name is clara sahl dukay. She is now my chief of staff but was back then a case worker. The law is very clear. Teresa lee from korea is undocumented. Shes in the United States, although shes now 17 or 18 years old. She never filed the appropriate papers. And under the law of the United States of america, the recourse is for her to return to the last country she was in, brazil, to wait ten years and apply to come back to the United States. Ten years. I thought to myself and so did my case worker, why would you do this to this young girl . She did nothing wrong. In fact, shes a Pretty Amazing story of success from a poor family. So i sat down and said lets write a law to deal with it. And we wrote the dream act. My original cosponsor of the dream act was orrin hatch of utah. This goes back, as i said, 16 years ago. So when i stand here today and talk about this issue, its an issue that ive come to know in a lot of different ways. Most importantly, ive come to know the young people whose lives have been affected by our laws as they currently exist. Over the years an interesting thing has happened. When i wrote the dream act and would go around chicago and tell the story of this new bill that i just introduced, there would be a lot of young people, mainly hispanic youngsters, who would listen to me and not react very much at all. And then many times, many times i would go out to my car to go back home at the end of the night in the darkness standing by my car would be one or two young people. And they would look in both directions to make sure no one could hear them and theyd exist per to theyd whisper to me, im a dreamer. These are undocumented children, teenagers, adolescents who had been taught early in life to be extremely careful. Never, ever admit youre undocumented. Never ever get involved with the law because you could be deported tomorrow morning and your family might be deported with you. So they grew up in fear, fear of what might happen with a knock on the door. And so now comes this politician, this senator and says, im going to change the law. Im going to make it right for you. Well, many of their parents were skeptical. They didnt believe it. Politicians say a lot of things. But these young people did something very interesting. Their approach to this evolved from standing in the darkness and whispering im a dreamer, listening to their parents tell them dont say it out loud that youre undocumented. They of course did exactly what their parents didnt want them to do. They started standing up and saying publicly, im a dreamer. I want to tell you who i am and my story. They wore tshirts and buttons and they rallied, and there was no question that they were going to come and tell their stories. As they told their stories to me, i decided the best thing i could do was to tell their stories on the floor of the United States senate. So i started telling them with their permission and a color photograph. I would tell the stories of these young people. And each one of them standing at this desk and other places in the chamber usually captured the attention of the people who gathered because each one of these stories was so compelling. It was a compelling story because here were young people who had all the odds against them. I remember when i was a teenager in my insecurity wondering what i would ever do and afraid of doing the wrong thing. And then i think of these young people who have the deck stacked against them. Theyve been told theyre not legal in this country, and there are people who would like to see them gone tomorrow. And yet these young people started emerging and telling the stories and i started repeating them. And then some Amazing Stories started emerging. What they were doing with their lives. You see, if youre undocumented in this country, you dont qualify for a lot of things that most americans take for granted. Pell grants to go to college, students from low incofamilies lowincome families receive up to 5,000 or more a year to go to college. Undocumented student, dreamers, receive nothing, nothing from the federal government. Same thing is true about student loans. For the most part unless theres a state program, these undocumented students cant qualify for any government student loans. They have to find some other way. They usually have to work their way through college or whatever their as pir nations aspirations might be. Over the years this bill was heard before committees, was voted on from time to time in the house and in the senate. And unfortunately we never could quite find that moment when the bill could pass the senate and the house in the same year, the same session. Never came together. There was a time when we passed it with a majority vote in the senate but under our rules, we needed 60. So we fell just short of being able to move the bill forward. Along the way i had a colleague of mine in the United States senate named barack obama, my junior senator. And he was a cosponsor of my dream act. And, of course, he went on to bigger and Better Things and became the president of the United States. Im very proud of him for his achievement. But i didnt waste my time after he was elected president calling him saying help me. Weve got to do something to help these young people. Wrote him a letter, cosigned by republican senator dick lugar of indiana asking him to think of a way that he might be able to protect the dreamers from being deported until we pass the law. I didnt get a response. A year passed. A year. I sent a second letter. This time with 23 senators signing it urging president obama to do something and he did. He created the daca program. And the daca program was basically an opportunity for young people to come forward, to register with the government, to pay a filing fee, submit themselves to a criminal background check, and then see if they qualified for a twoyear protection from deportation and a twoyear opportunity to legally work in the United States. Well, it was i was just reminded august 15, 2012, was the first date to sign up. I joined with my friend and colleague Luis Gutierrez of chicago. We decided we would create a signup, an opportunity at navy pier, a Historic Place in the city, and invite young people who qualified for daca, dreamers to come in and sign up. We had volunteer immigration lawyers who wouldnt charge these young people anything, and we sent out the notice, to every group we could notices to every group we could think of. Come in and sign up if you qualify for daca. We didnt know how many people would sign up. We were afraid it would be 200, 300 people and didnt know if we could handle more than that with the volunteer attorneys we had. Then something happened. It was amazing. At midnight, the night before, they started cueing up outside of navy pier, families, mom, dad, and that young son or daughter who qualified for daca and they waited in the dark all night for the chance to sign up. When it was over it wasnt hundreds but thousands, thousands who came to navy pier. We couldnt handle it. We had to set up workshops all over the city afterwards to give them their chance to sign up. It was a big risk for them. This was the first time in their lives that they were going to trust the government of the United States with information that they had carefully kept personal, confidential, and secret. They were going to trust this government by signing up for a program because the president of the United States said it will protect you. They had 500 or 600 that they needed for the filing fee. They were prepared for all the background checks. And at the end of the day after years of daca, five or six years of daca, 780,000 people, young people have signed up for this protection. Whats happened to these young people is nothing short of amazing. I could go on for a long time about the Success Stories of Daca Recipients. Once they got that protection, once they could work. I love to tell the story about lie yol la lyola, the university of chicago, the school of medicine. That school of medicine decided that they were going to open up competition for their medical school to dacaprotected young people. Not a special spot for them or set aside quota or numbers. No, they had to compete with everyone else. But that medical school said these young people now deserve a chance. Mr. President , as a result of that decision, there are 28 medical students at lyola school of medicine in chicago and theyre there because there was no place else that would accept them. This college of medicine said if youre a dak if youre daca protected, well let you compete to come to our school. Well, the word spread around the country like lightning. Some of the best and brightest young people finally got their chance and they were accepted at this medical school. They are impressive. Now, remember what i said. They dont qualify for government loans. Medical school is expensive. My state under governor Patrick Quinn and now continued under Governor Bruce Rauner set up a loan program but with a catch. We have a loan as long as they promise to give one year of medical practice for each year of the loan. In chicago, east st. Louis or in rural areas where we cant find doctors and they willingly do so, anxiously do so because this is their chance. I tell that story because its one thats particularly poignant. When president obama and attorney general sessions yesterday decided to put an end to daca, they had put into question whether these young people will ever finish medical school. You cant go to medical school and be an intern and work if you cannot legally work in the United States. They can legally work because of daca. When daca disappears, their right to legally work disappears. Their ability to be interns and work in the medical school disappears as well. Whats going to happen to them . Is that the end of their medical education . Lyola stuck its neck out and gave them a chance. Filling those slots will be impossible. Second, thirdyear students, you just cant fill those slots. And it will be a real loss, a loss of great talent, great opportunity. When President Trump made this announcement with attorney general sessions yesterday, i was really troubled. I only had one facetoface conversation with the president. It was his inauguration day. It was no surprise i didnt support him but i came up and shook hands with him, congratulated him on being elected president. And i said i want to thank you for the kind things you said about dreamers. And he looked me in the eye and he said, dont worry about those dreamers of the were going to take care of the dreamers. And i listened then so many times afterwards when he said something very similar, publicly. He said at one point we love the dreamers. Were going to take care of those kids over and over and over again. And i was convinced, i want to be convinced that that was a genuine sentiment in his heart that he was expressing. He said some harsh things when it comes to immigration. I think theyre fundamentally unfair things calling mexican immigrants murderers and rapists, travel bans against people of muslim religion. Those things are in my mind inconsistent with the values of this country. But he said them and many people found them appealing. And yet he always had a special comment when it came to dreamers and daca, and i thought maybe, just maybe hes going to give them a break. Well, he did until yesterday. And yesterday his announcement that he was going to put an end to daca in six months is going to cause a lot of problems for a lot of innocent people, but the good thing thats happened, if there is any good to come of this, is that all across america now, there is a sensitivity, an understanding, an appreciation of who these young people are. Its almost amazing to me that many folks could miss the whole debate for a decade or more, but when you Start Talking about removing this protection under law, people wake up, stand up, and speak up. In my city of chicago that im honored to represent, john rowe is an executive. Hes of the opposite political faith. I know it. I like him. He likes me. But hes retired now, and a very generous man, him and his wife, helping a lot of young people. He has been the leader in chicago of gathering over 120 Chicago Business leaders who support daca and the dream act, and they are gathering thousands like them around the United States, business leaders. If you saw the news accounts this morning, leaders of google and facebook and others coming out against President Trumps decision to end daca. Theyre not alone. In addition to that, you have extraordinary outpouring of support for Daca Dreamers from the Faith Community across the United States. Im proud that the cardinal, the Roman Catholic cardinal in chicago, blaize supich, has been outspoken in supporting immigration, in supporting dreamers and those protected by daca. But its not the only religion where the leaders have said that. In faiths, jewish, protestant, catholic, muslim religions, you find this support coming forward. And its an indication to me of the growing support across america. When 76 of the American People agree on anything, we ought to stand up and take notice, and 76 of the American People believe that we ought to treat these dacaprotected people and dreamers fairly, justly, and thats what we should do. I told the story yesterday on the floor about jesus contreras. Jesus contreras was brought to the United States at the age of 6 and his family settled in houston, texas. He went to Lone Star College down there. Again, he is undocumented, a dreamer. He finished a course of paramedic. Became a licensed, certified paramedic because of daca. He happened to be there, of course, when Hurricane Harvey hit, working night and day, saving lives, trying to help those victims of the hurricane. There were thousands just like him, but the important part of this story is that this young man is one of those undocumented folks who really cares about the people of houston, the people of texas and america. He calls this home, and he wrote me a letter and he told me that. I read it on the floor yesterday. There are others. I want to tell you about one here today. Im going to try to pronounce her name correctly. Hemina oganava. I probably missed that, but im close. She came at 9 years of age to the United States from mexico city. She was raised in houston and lives there today. In high school, she served in the u. S. Army, junior reserve officer training score, better known as junior rots program. Under her leadership, her batallion was named the best in the Houston Independent School district. She was the captain of her High School Soccer team, a regular volunteer at the houston food bank. Currently, she is majoring in communications at the university of houston. She interned with United States representative Sheila Jacksonlee and Houston City Council member robert galegos. Due to her community service, she was asked by the mayor of houston to serve as the youngest member of the mayors hispanic advisory board. She is the first daca recipient to serve on this boferred. On this board. Last week in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, hermina stepped in to help her Community Just like she has always done. She volunteered at shelters, helping people with fema and red cross applications. She was joined by many other Daca Recipients. She wrote me a letter. She asked for only one thing for President Trump to come and visit houston and meet the daca volunteers, to meet those heroes, to look in their eyes, to hear their stories before he made his decision about whether they had a future in the United States. Hemina and so many others have a future to give to this country, but without daca she faces deportation. This president who said we love the dreamers with his decision yesterday has said we are going to deport the dreamers. By ending the protection of daca, they are subject to deportation any minute of any day. They would send her back to mexico where she hasnt lived since she was 9. If that happened, would america be a stronger country, a better country . The answers clear. When we introduced the dream act, senator Lindsey Graham, who is my cosponsor, great ally and friend in this, a republican from South Carolina said, and i quote, the moment of reckoning is coming. Well, mr. President , that moments here. Republican leaders in congress have to make a decision about hemina and thousands just like her. Are we going to be a fair and just society . Are we going to give these young people a chance for a future . Are we going to tell them no thanks, theyre not welcome, leave . One of the president s appointees to the voter fraud commission, secretary of state of the state of kansas, said that this morning. He said after the president s decision when it comes to eliminating daca, its time for them to leave this country. Well, i think its wrong. These people just like this young lady deserve a chance to be part of our future. How many times has she stood before that Great American flag and pledged allegiance, sang that national anthem, the only one she really knows, and believes that is her country, her flag, her future. And were going to tell her now, no thanks, hemina, as good as you are, as much as you have done, america doesnt need you . I dont think so. As for this u. S. Senator, i will do everything in my power to protect these dreamers and give them a chance to not only live legally in america but many fullfledged citizens of this country. To all the dreamers who are listening to this debate, dont despair. You had the courage to come out of the shadows and to stop whispering, to stand up and tell the world who you were and because you did that, were in a stronger position today to help you to realize your dream, to become part of the future of america. Mr. President , im joined this evening by a number of visitors in my office. We invited them down to come and hear me say a few words on the floor, and we really lured them in with pizza. But they had a little snack upstairs with me and theyre listening to this speech. They are the dreamers from georgetown university, my alma mater. As we sat and learned of their stories and talked about this, i thought to myself i thought it was a pretty big deal when i transferred from st. Louis university to come out here to georgetown as a sophomore so many years ago. Kind of a bold thing. I had never been to washington, i had never visited the campus. I came to the university. But what i did was nothing compared to what they have done. They have fought against much greater odds. They have shown more determination and maturity than i ever had at their age. All they are asking for is a chance to graduate from that Great University and become part of this great nation. Heres what we need to do. We need to make sure that we dont leave this senate, this house of representatives, this month or in the next few weeks without passing the dream act. All im asking for, all any of us are asking for, bring it to the floor. Bring it to the floor for a vote. I have confidence that we can find 60 votes in the senate to pass it. I think at this moment in history we can. I opened my i open my office door and my heart to those of good faith who want to join us in this effort from the republican side. I thank from the bottom of my heart senator graham, senator flake, senator murkowski and senator gardner, four republican senators who have made this, thank goodness, a bipartisan effort in the United States senate. We need to do the same thing in the house of representatives. We need to say once and for all your dream of becoming part of the future of america is going to be a reality, a reality because we are going to step up today, someday soon, and make it a reality. And i ask finally to the president of the United States, as disappointed as i was by your announcement yesterday, as disappointed as i was after believing that perhaps it might end differently, we still need your help, mr. President. If you truly do love these dreamers, if you do believe these young people deserve a chance, we need you to step up and speak up and join us. Let us pass this measure on a bipartisan basis. Join us in passing this measure. Whatever youre thinking about daca, whether it was constitutional or illegal, lets put it behind us. Lets pass a real law and lets have a signing ceremony that says on a bipartisan basis, we are going to give these young people across america their day of justice, their day of opportunity, their chance to make this an even greater nation. Mr. President , i yield the floor and i yield the floor. A senator a senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from massachusetts. Mr. Markey thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i join with the senator from illinois. I thank him for his great leadership on this issue. He has been doing this for a long, long time. And his partnership with senator Lindsey Graham is inspiring. So i just want to begin by thanking senator durbin and senator graham for leading this effort, making it bipartisan, making it possible for us to talk about an issue as americans and not as democrats and republicans. And having a discussion about who falls into the category of being an american who is entitled to the benefits of being in this country. So for the last five years, well, the deferred action for childhood arrivals, or daca program, has created security and opportunity for young immigrants across this country. And now the futures of some 800,000 young people, 7,900 of them in massachusetts, have been needlessly put in jeopardy because President Donald Trump feels the need to keep an illconsidered Campaign Promise made to his base and to break another one made to the best and brightest of our young people by repealing daca. And because the house of representatives have refused to debate and hold a vote on comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation, our immigration system remains tragically broken. Yesterday, i met one of these dreamers, diana ortiz. Her mother brought her to the United States nearly 20 years ago. Diana studied history at Pomona College in california, and she recently received a masters degree of divinity from the harvard divinity school, and she hopes to become a u. S. Citizen. Diana literally wants to do gods work here on earth. Daca has provided diana with more than a million and more than a million other young immigrants safety, security, dignity, respect, and opportunity. These are young people who played, studied, worked, and live next door to us each and every day. So what does a repeal of daca mean for the dreamers and for our country . It means bad news for our economy. Many of these dreamers have started their own businesses and are beginning their careers. Over the course of the past five years of the program, 91 of the dreamers have found gainful employment. Removing Daca Recipients from the work force will reduce our Gross Domestic Product by more than 460 billion over a decade and would cut contributions to medicare and Social Security by more than 24 billion over that same tenyear period. It means misplaced criminal justice priorities with Law Enforcement focusing not on targeting drug dealers, human traffickers and the real criminals in our society, but on the dreamers instead. These young people are not the socalled bad hombres that President Trump said would be the focus of his administration. And most tragically, it means unnecessary pain and suffering for countless young people and families across massachusetts and across the United States whose futures will be uncertain. Instead of going to sleep tonight knowing that they will be able to live their lives in peace and plan for the future, they are left again with uncertainty, vulnerable to deportation and unable to work legally. This is heart breaking. It is unjust, and it is just plain evil. We should not punish these young people who have no other home than the United States of america. We should not go back on the word we gave when we told these young people to come out of the shadows. These dreamers are engineers, theyre police officers, teachers, and students. Many in our great massachusetts universities. They serve bravely in our military. Right now in the army, navy, air force and marines. They are our best and our brightest and are making the most of the opportunities that the United States has always provided immigrant communities. I stand here this evening as testament to the future any family can achieve in this country. When i announced for the United States senate four years ago, i decided really for the first time in my life to go up and ring the doorbell of the house that my father grew up in. You pretty much grow up where your mother tells your father hes going to live. My mother was from malden and my father was from lawrence. We grew up in malden. My father said lawrence was a great city. I rang the doorbell at 88 phillips street in lawrence in the shadow of the old south mill. A triple decker. That is a threefamily home stacked one on top of the other. And my father grew up on the first floor of 88 phillips street. Five brothers and sisters and a mother and father in this very tiny space. And i rang the doorbell to see who lives there now. And the door opened, and it was a dominican family with their children. And the accents were different, but the aspirations just the same for that family as existed for the markeys. My father graduated from lawrence school, the vocational program, and his son is a United States senator from the state of massachusetts. That was a dream that my father had, or his father and mother had, to be here in america to give opportunities not so much for themselves but for the next generation. Well, thats what were talking about. Were talking about these young people whose parents brought them here to give them a better chance. But the children didnt have a choice on whether or not they would come here. They saw the promise that hard work and education and opportunity helped a little bit by the government that worked for the people. And so thats really what were talking about. And that is why i believe it is a new level of inhumanity for President Trump to betray the foundational values of this nation by repealing daca. And he is no better than Pontius Pilate by having attorney general Jeff Sessions make the announcement yesterday. President trump is providing absolutely no leadership for his party or the American People on an issue that even he says is an important one. And i can only hope that he recognizes and understands the cruelty that repealing daca will inflict on innocent young families, innocent young people all across this country. So if President Trump wants to take away these protections, then Congress Must act. The balls in the court of Republican Leadership in the house and the senate, speaker paul ryan, leadership mitch mcconnell, and either listen to a growing chorus of their colleagues, c. E. O. s, including apple, amazon, microsoft, facebook, General Motors and academic leaders and countless colleges and University President s all who support daca, or he can side with the forces of intolerance and injustice. Congress should pass the dream act so that individuals who are brought here at a young age can earn citizenship by serving in the military or pursuing higher education. And ultimately the house of representatives must also debate and vote on comprehensive Immigration Reform. I have long supported a pathway to citizenship for the 11 Million Immigrants who are living here in the shadows. We are the United States of america. Were a nation of immigrants. We are called on not simply to tolerate but to celebrate our immigrant communities, to understand not only the need but the value of our immigrant communities, to embrace not just the differences but the diversity of our immigrant communities. President Franklin Delano roosevelt said remember, remember always that all of us and you and i especially are descended of immigrants and revolutionists. No one knows that better than the commonwealth of massachusetts. We have always believed that no matter who you are or where you come from, you can achieve the American Dream. We recognize that our economy and our security are stronger because of the immigrant families who have enriched our nation since its founding. That is why this decision from the Trump Administration cannot stand. We will not let it. With congress now back in session, republicans should prepare to have an historic debate, a debate about the fairness that we should extend to all of these young people. There are going to be voices and calls and marches and protests all demanding protections for these innocent dreamers. And i pledge my support to the 800,000 dreamers all across our country, and i will not stop fighting for them. And we will not stop fighting for them. Millions of people are going to stand up. I believe that the American Dream for all of these young people is achievable, and it must be here in the United States senate that the realization of that dream begins. I thank you, mr. President , and i yield back. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from oregon. Mr. Merkley mr. President , i want you to imagine for a moment that youre an 11yearold child. Your mother tells you to pack some things because youre going on a trip. So you pick out four or five of your favorite toys and you put them into a backpack, and you put in a bottle of water and some rosary beads as well. And you walk out through the door of your home into the night with your mom. You dont know whats going on. Youre just doing what you were told. You hold your mothers hand, and you walk in silence. And soon you are walking with 20 others through the mexican desert. Youre tired and hungry and carrying everything that matters to you on your back. The sweat is pouring off. The prickly bushes scrape your body. You are overcome by dehydration and you faint. Someone comes to your aid and gives you some water from their canteen. You come to, and you keep going. And eventually on this journey, you make it into the United States of america, into arizona. Then out of the blue the years pass and you grow up. 14 years pass. Now youre 25, 25 years old. You spent more than half your life in the United States of america. Youre studying. Youre going to college to get your degree in economics while working full time at the local bank to save money. Youve made friends, built a life for yourself. Things are going well. Then all of a sudden your future, everything you had planned for in life is thrown into doubt. The president of the United States has just said that he views you as a criminal because of the decision your mother made well more than a decade before. Just remember what you did, all of what your mom said. Put some things into a backpack and were going out into the night. It doesnt matter to President Trump that you had no choice in that decision. It doesnt matter to him all youve had to overcome. It doesnt matter how youve invested so seriously in being a productive part of your community. In the eyes of the president of the United States, youre a criminal. It really shouldnt be too hard to imagine that story because a story close to that is a story of some 800,000 People Living in the United States, young men and women who came here as children, having nothing to do with the decision themselves. And this particular story that i read to you is a true story of an oregonian, the story that belongs to Hugo Nicholas, one of 11,000 dreamers living in oregon today. Like the hundreds of thousands of others brought to this country as children, through no fault of their own, hugos future was thrown into complete chaos by the president. Thrown into chaos when attorney general sessions, acting on orders from President Trump, announced the cruel, heartless decision to end the deferred being deferred action for childhood arrivals program, the daca program. We know this program best as the program for dreamers. Those young men and women who are seeking to do everything they can to have productive lives, contribute to their community and establish a Financial Foundation and contribute back to america, those young men and women who know no other nation, who speak no other language, who contribute to society and who are american in every way that matters. But thats not the viewpoint President Trump has. And so we here in the senate have to act. The United States is and always have been a nation of immigrants. Unless one is a native american, each of us, every one of us is either an immigrant or descendant from immigrants. Immigrants who were fleeing famine, immigrants who were fleeing political persecution, immigrants who were fleeing religious persecution, immigrants who were simply seeking a better life, greater opportunity, greater freedom for their family. Thats the foundation on which america has been based. Our Founding Fathers recognized just how vital immigration was to the growth and strength of our budding nation. After all, it was james madison, the author of our constitution and our fourth president , who declared during the Constitutional Convention that america was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. And he continued, that part of america which encouraged generics immigration most has advanced most rapidly. We have always had debates and discussions about immigration. At times weve been shortsighted in banning or limiting one group or another in a generation only to turn around and welcome them with open arms in the next generation. Time and time again weve overcome our prejudices. We remain true to the loving and compassionate nation we are, a nation that has welcomed others to our shores. If we want to know the true nature of our country, we only need to look to the statue of liberty, where there before the feet of lady liberty are inscribed those words, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. I think that line from the poet emma lazarus resonates so powerfully because we know so many lives are connected through our parents and grandparents and greatgrandparents, that experience of coming to americas shores poor, tired and yearning to breathe free. Generation after generation of immigrants saw lady liberty as a welcoming symbol of freedom and opportunity as their first glimpse of america. It inspired hope and given people across the world permission to dream. But if we end daca, if we crush the dreams of these young men and women, we might as well take away those words off of the pedestal of lady liberty because we will no longer be that compassionate nation. We will no longer be that welcoming nation that has played such an instrumental role in each of our histories. I cant think of anything more damaging to the wellbeing or the future of our great nation, because we know that when people come here and add their distinctive cultures, beliefs and backgrounds to the melting pot of america, we become a stronger country and a stronger people. This is especially true of our dreamers, 800,000 men and women for whom america is the only home they know, 800,000 who came here as young children, 800,000 who went to school here and made their friends here and grew up here, invested in creating a future here, young men and women who we promised if they came out of the shadows, if they did Everything Else right, if they obeyed the laws and met the rigorous requirements asked of them, that we would protect and look after them in this dreamer program. People like Hugo Nicholas whose story i just shared. Ziraflores who grew up in this country and is giving back to this country. She came here when she was 6. Her younger brother was in need of medical attention and he couldnt get that attention back home in mexico, but he got it here in america. He underwent years of treatment and surgery and there upon his family decided this was their home. Two decades have passed two decades have passed and now 26zera works for the state of oregon, she assists with disability programs for older adults. She didnt make the decision to come here or to stay here. She didnt have a say in the matter. She doesnt remember her life back in mexico. Attorney general sessions and President Trump may say shes a criminal, but i say shes a contributing member of oregon whose done everything right to build a solid life, a contributing member to our country, and we need to pass the dream act to make sure she can continue to make these substantial contributions. Its the only right thing to do for her and its also the right thing to do for our community. Zira and hugo and the hundreds of thousands of talented young men and women just like them embody the American Dream. They have risen up from humble beginnings. They have overcome adversity to thrive. Arent these exactly the kinds of individuals that we want here in our nation . We ought to be celebrating these dreamers for all they are doing, not punishing them for choices made by their parents. The eviction of 800,000 dreamers just doesnt hurt them, it doesnt just punish them, it doesnt just damage their families, it hurts all of us because as punishing as it would be to send dreamers back to countries that they have never known, all of us will pay a price if this is allowed to happen. We will pay the price economically. They estimated 400 million the economy would lose over the next ten years. And we would pay the price morally as our nations standing as beacon of hope an opportunity is tarnished in the eyes of the woferld. Of the world. If President Trump wont do the right thing, if hes willing to turn his back on these 800,000 young men and women, then its up to all of us here in congress to stand up for them. Its what many of my republican colleagues, both here in the senate and over in the house, have said they want to accomplish, including speaker ryan and majority leader mcconnell. Its what President Trumps friends in the business sector have said they want. Just this past weekend 400 Industry Leaders in fact more than 400 Industry Leaders pledged their support for daca and urged the president to continue it. Its what nearly threequarters of the American People say they want to see happen in the most recent poll. So lets listen to our business leaders. Lets listen to our colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Lets listen to the American People. Lets listen to our hearts and our minds on this issue before us and lets act expeditiously. Not in six months with days to spare before President Trumps clock runs out. Lets act within six days. Lets act quickly because every single day that passes now, these individuals and their extended families are in a world of pain and uncertainty and that simply isnt right. Lets protect these dreamers who are here through no fault of their own, who contribute an enormous amount to our country, and who are american in every single way that matters. Mr. President , to paraphrase president madison, we are a nation that is indebted to immigration for our incredible success. We cannot, we must not renege on that debt by turning our back on the dreamers. It would undermined our nations moral standing, it would hurt our economy, it is cruel, it is mean, it is absolutely just plain wrong. Lets get that bill on this floor and lets pass it ex expeditiously. Thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Sanders mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Sanders mr. President , i would ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sanders thank you. Mr. President , i think i will shock knobby telling you that shock nobody by telling you that i disagree with almost every policy that President Trump has brought forth. No, i do not believe we should throw 23 million americans off of Health Insurance and give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the top 2 . No, i happen to believe at a time of massive income and wealth and equality, it is high time for the wealthiest people in this country and for large profitable corporations to start paying their fair share of taxes. No, i do not believe as President Trump does that we should cut pell grants and food stamps and afterschool programs and medicaid and nutrition programs for pregnant women and heating assistance programs. I believe that in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, we must protect those who are most vulnerable. And, mr. President , no, i do not believe as President Trump does that Climate Change is a hoax. I believe that it is the greatest Environmental Crisis facing our planet and that it is already causing devastating harm throughout our nation and throughout the world. And on and on it goes. Theres very little in Public Policy that i agree with with the president. But there is one area where my disagreement with President Trump goes much deeper than Public Policy. And the truth is that every president in recent history, including conservative president s like george w. Bush, liberals like barack obama, understood that one of the prime functions of being president of the United States is to bring the people of our country together, whether youre black or whether youre white or whether youre latino or whether youre asian american, whether youre native american. Every president has instingtively understood that one of the prime responsibilities of a president is to bring our people together as proud americans. Unfortunately and tragically, this is something that donald trump does not understand. And at a time when this country faces so many serious crises, whether it is the high cost of health care, whether its Climate Change, whether it is the proliferation of lowwage jobs and a starvation minimum wage, whether its the Huge National debt that we face, whether it is inadequate educational opportunities, whether its a broken criminal justice system, instead of bringing our people together to address those important issues and try to solve them, what this president is doing uniquely in modern history is trying to divide us up by the color of our skin, by our sexual orientation, by the country that we were born in, by our religion, instead of bringing us together to solve the many problems that we face as a people. He is trying to divide us up in order to gain Political Support from a segment of our population. He is trying to divide us up based on the color of our skin, which is what his attacks on affirmative action are all about. He is trying to divide us up based on religion, which is what his muslim ban is all about. Were not supposed to like muslims. He is trying to divide us up based on sexual orientation, which is what his attacks on transgender individuals serving in the military is about. Were supposed to hate transgender people, discriminate against them. And he is trying to divide us up based on our country of origin and our immigration status. In my view, trumps decision to end the daca program for some 800,000 young people is the cruelest and most ugly president ial act in the modern history of this country. I cannot think of one single act which is uglier and more cruel. These are 800,000 young people, often exemplary young people, the kind of kids we are proud of. These are kids who know this country, the United States of america, as their only home. In fact, many of these young people know english as their only language. These are young people who today are in college, they are in law school, they are in medical school, and they are proudly serving in the United States military. And what this president has done is to take away the legal status by which these young people and work on jobs, go to school, and live without fear. They dont have that legal status means that any time they walk down the street, they are frightened that they could be arrested and deported from this country and separated from their family. This act on Donald Trumps part is an abomination, and Congress Must reject, must reject trumps action and pass daca into law. Mr. President , this is exactly what the American People want us to do. A recent poll that came out yesterday done by Morning Consult and politico, reports that 76 of those who were polled said the government should allow immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children to remain here. 76 . 84 of democrats support the dreamers having legal status while 69 of republicans surveyed also favor such a policy. In another poll, in april, 2017, 73 of Trump Supporters said dreamers should be allowed to stay in the United States and become legal residents. In other words, and i say this to the young people who are in daca please do not think for one moment that you are being deserted by the people of this country. You are not. You are being attacked by a president of the United States who chooses to divide us up, and you are todays victims. Tomorrow, it may well be another minority group. So, mr. President , this is a Pivotal Moment in american history, and we need to tell those young people that we will not see their legal status removed, we will not see them thrown out of the only country that they have ever known. We need strong bipartisan support to pass the dreamers dream act, and i hope that we will do that as soon as possible. Thank you, mr. President. With that, i would yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call