Good morning, everyone. Good morning. Hello, everyone. My name is leah and of the director of relation for the center for American Progress. We are very pleased you have joined us all this morning and welcome you to our daca interface and civil rights prayer breakfast. I hope you have a chance to get breakfast. We know this if it is at capacity to ask if you want to enjoy breakfast please quartzite or grab a chair beside the wall. First to open up our program i want to welcome the fearless and strong and brave champion who has been chairing the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, represents texas and has been a steadfast champion of immigrant whether dreams, asylumseekers trick you can find during his recess breaks in the board and today he will be joining Daca Recipients in the court as will do whatever you want to of applause for congressman castro. [applause] thank you. Good morning, everybody. I want to thank you all for here contract being here on a momentous occasion in this standard support of Daca Recipients across our nation. I am the proud chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus at a represent the great city of san antonio, texas, in the United States congress. I want to first thanked and recognize all the Daca Recipients that are here, and dreamers. [applause] also to the plains and attorneys who are here today with an working so hard and arguing their hearts out, thank you for all of your work. [applause] and, of course, today we take our fight to the Supreme Court, we believe and we hope the Supreme Court will recognize that Daca Recipients and dreamers are just as american as anyone else. I would also like to acknowledge gabby, ambassador, former uscis director leon rodriguez, and the dream. Us founder don graham also here with us this morning. [applause] you know this but im going to mention it anyway because there are some folks who dont always recognize it. Dreamers are valuable contributing members of our communities, and valuable contributors to the United States economy. They are our neighbors, friends and colleagues. They strengthen our communities and our country, and its inexcusable that President Trump is forcing dreamers into legal limbo by trying to cancel the daca program. Knowing that the Supreme Court will shortly hear this case is only cemented in my mind how cruel the administration acted in pushing deportation over keeping dreamers here in the United States. For the last two years the Trump Administration has attacked agreement by trying to roll back their immigration protections and putting them at risk of deportation. By rescinding daca Trump Administration is manufactured a crisis that assert dreamers and american families. Today, our country is taking another important step to reject the Trump Administrations cruel tactics. While we must wait until next year to hear the final decision from the Supreme Court, today is an important beginning. Today the brave Daca Recipients, their attorneys, elected officials and advocates across the country standup in their defense. Our nations dreamers include, including over 300,000 in my home state of texas, and 8000 in own congressional district, deserve real protections under the law. Todays arguments serve to remind us all to recommit to welcoming dreamers every day and in every way that we possibly can. In congress we will fight by continuing to push the senate to vote on the house passed dream and promised act. We are a country as you all know with a strong immigrant heritage, and the diversity of our communities strengthens our national fabric. This issue is a personal one to me as i had a grandparent, my grandmother, who came to the United States as a young girl. My grandmother came to the United States because both her parents had died around the time of the mexican revolution, and she and her younger sister, my grandmother with six or seven, the closest relatives that could take them in were not in mexico but when san antonio, texas. I often think when i think about the legal limbo that the dreamers are in today, i think about my grandmothers story and how when she came to the United States, the document is about hurt in, there was a line of that document that read something to the effect of purpose of visit. Scribbled into the outline where the words, to live. She was coming here to live. Our dreamers have been hit with us for many years. They have been part of the fabric of American Society for a long time. Today i hope the Supreme Court recognized that. To the dreamers and the Daca Recipients, may god bless you today and everyday. To the advocates and attorneys and everybody else, the elected officials, by colleagues who are here who have been pushing for so long on their behalf, thank you and may god bless you. [applause] and now i know hes just going to sit down, the quickest seat to podium youll ever find, standard or i want to introduce somebody who has been a grand champion of dreamers, of Daca Recipients for a few decades now, and that is senator dick durbin of illinois. [applause] well, its a treat to beer today. I started the morning walking in front of the Supreme Court with all the people and others sitting, standing in the rain, cold, hoping that theyre going to get inside to hit the Supreme Court argument at 10 00. I will be the end have listen. This has been a long journey. Joe and my attorney and the Senate Judiciary committee has absolutely been the leader on this. This administration has been so harsh, hard edged and even cruel when it comes to immigration, and no more so than when it comes to the treatment of children. 2880 infants, toddlers and children taken away on their parents at the border. The unification, reunification of the stamps required a federal court to step in. And then the president s decision to eliminate daca. When i think of what it meant, i reflect on the fact that president obama told me that in his transition beating with donald trump in the white house the december before the trump inauguration, he spent an extra hour talking to them about daca and dreamers, hoping to convince him that it would be the worst thing he could do for the justice of the individual, even for the politics of the situation. But clearly he didnt succeed. We now learn the gathering of Jeff Sessions and steve miller and john kelly and kirstjen nielsen, who also i dont know, they made the decision to eliminate. And were it not for the court intervention, stepping in and giving those who were protected a chance to renew their status. With a been a tragedy that wouldve been multiplied many times over. I dont need to tell you with the daca people are. Many of them are seated in the audience, but i can tell you this for sure. I have never been associated with a better group of people in my life. They are solid. They are sincere. They are brave. They are determined. Their entire life story is a story of battling against the odds come from the time they were told as children that they were not the same as our neighbors and friends in school, to this day they have never ever given up. I have cried with them and laughed with him, have gone through many experiences together. Today is another step on that journey. I got my fingers crossed and im saying those prayers this morning, dont be that fits Supreme Court justice that will make a difference. I sincerely believe we have a chance to win in the Supreme Court. But whatever happens, if the Court Decision comes this spring, and assume thats when it will be handed down, this battle will not be finished until everyone of those dreamers has the chance to become part of americas future to earn their citizenship and be part of the only culture theyve ever known. That is been my goal for 19 years since i introduced the dream act. It is my goal today as well. I have said to them through many defeats and a few along the way, dont give up on us because we are never going to give up on you. Thank you for being here this morning. [applause] good morning, greetings of peace to you all. My name is maggie and of the director of the Safe Initiative at the center for American Progress here this is a way dday as thousands of our neighbors, friends and family members fight for the lawful right to stay with their families and communities. And i am grateful we are joined by so many friends and allies. We also have representative chuy garcia here as well and faith leaders and civil rights leaders. As we call on the Supreme Court to uphold the rights of Daca Recipients, those of us poor people of faith also lift up our prayers. I would like to ask if the faith leaders here here today conjoig out in front of the room, and i invite any members of congress who wish to join us at the front in prayer to do so as well. Here to leaders in prayer is reverend nunes and associate pastor at Memorial United Methodist Church in houston, texas. Reverend nunes is also a daca recipient. She was born in mexico and came to the u. S. At the age of nine. And she could speak today to what it means for herself and the community she serves. Welcome, reverend nunes. You can stand in the front right here. Good morning, everybody. Right in front. Wow, no pressure. As we begin this gathering and as we talk about the occupation of land, i would like to acknowledge the traditional ancestral territory of indigenous which we are learning, working and organizing today. May we continue to recognize those homes were standing on and i would bring honor as a work towards justice. Also i like to call upon my ancestors who continue to guide me and strengthen the as we navigate through whitespace fixed never in my life did i think i would be a pastor. However, today i can stand before you and confirm that this is the exact place god wants me. It is in my fairy experience as a marginalized constantly dehumanized undocumented woman that god continues to remind me of my worth as gods creation and of the power i hold as such. I am called to speak truth to power. I am called to attend to those by the unfair immigration policy that constantly hurt children, babies, grandparents and caring families apart. I am a call to speak up even when my heart is racing and my palms are sweaty, he comes peoples lives depend on it. My daughters life depends on it. As a daca pastor i often get asked when will god sipping and bring relief to the suffering under an unfair and broken immigration system . My response is always, when you get up and march forward. It is you who brings god into the places where change happens. It is in the middle of our organizing that god moves and picks up the sign to march forward with us. God is there present their god is here president lets not forget we are not doing this work alone, and when we must deal tired, weary and we, we come forward. We come to rest in god, recharge, continue pushing forward. Now would you join in prayer with me . Transcending spirit, we come today tired, burdened but hopeful. We come together today as a resilient and strengthened community. We are here to claim are worth as children of god, a creation of your very image, and as sources of your own energy. We come together today to stand for the justice you are yearning for. We come together to keep accountable those outspoken empty promises, but once elected turn away and forget. We thank you, oh great one, for we know he walked beside us as we march. You hurt deeply when we hurt and you continue to manifest when we feel alone. May we continue to fight the good fight. May we continue to draw strength from your ever flowing ice giving energy as we continue to answer the call to justice and peace. Give us wisdom as we move forward, bring clarity to our mind, the present. So be it. Amen. Thank you, reverend nunez. Now well have a few words if you want to remain standing from rabbi, the washington director, offer a short reflection of what this means. Good morning, everyone. This momentous morning is a day of, and a moment, of uncertainty, of hope, but also anxiety, of anticipation. So lets take a couple of moments to tap into our gratitude. Our gratitude for our health, for the food that we eat this morning, for those who made it possible for that food to come onto our plates and into our bellies. In particular, lets offer gratitude for the documented folks, their families who have stepped through fear, risk, uncertainty, and put themselves on the line in leading this fight. Today, lets offer gratitude for the plaintiffs, for the families, for the attorneys, for those who will be inside the court today, for those who will be outside the court today. For the organizers. We are grateful for your leadership because you understand that youre not just leading the fight about daca. You are leading a fight for how this country views immigrants, and leading a fight for how this country views itself. You are leading a movement for what kind of society and what kind of world we will live in, and that our grandchildren and greatgrandchildren will live in. We know that there are some that want to build a society where theres only one way to live, only one way to love, only one way to pray, and only one way to think. We know that there are some who are working to build a society where only white lives matter. Today, its an important moment in a movement that has a different vision. That vision says that home is here, that we can build a true multiracial democracy where all our cherished and can thrive. A movement that says we hold these truths to be selfevident, that all are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and to secure these rights, governments are instituted driving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Today is about seeking justice, and while we pray for victory, we know that to truly prevail we must be in this fight for the long haul, and have each others backs. And we do. [applause] thank you, rabbi. What a blessing it is to be with you all here today. These faith leaders with me today represent several different faith traditions, and denominations. Each of them has worked to elevate the voices of their faith communities in support of Daca Recipients, and they are here again today in steadfast solidarity. All of us join our community in praying that our Supreme Court justices will listen to the arguments shared today and choose the only possible justin and moral outcome to keep our communities together. Thank you. [applaus [applause] good morning, everyone. My name is good morning and so grateful for the prayer that we just all shared together. My name is Christina Jimenez and im the executive director and one of the cofounders of united we dream and im grateful for all the members of congress to bring us together in this space this morning. Moments like today, we must take note that together we are making history. We are making history today. We can say that our community has been put through unspeakable hardship, deportation, and ice and agents going after our communities. The future of daca, the future of tps, all uncertain and many, many, many more attacks that our communities are facing all across the country, but i am reminded today of the words of a woman, valerie core, who offered up perhaps the pains that we face are not the pains of death, but the pain of childbirth, that there is something new being born today. Do you believe that . Do you believe that . Something new is being born today so as we pray together, let our prayers not just be that the justices do the right thing, but let us also send our prayers and our energies to all of the immigrants that despite the attacks, despite ice and cdp going after us every day, despite the uncertainty of daca, despite the cold and despite the rain, are showing up today. All of the immigrants and allies who right now are either waiting to be inside of the Supreme Court or will be rallying outside of the Supreme Court, let us spray for them because despite the challenges and the fear, they are showing up. We are showing up. And let us also turn our prayers within so that similarly, just like the courageous immigrants taking action today that we meet the moment as well. Lets pray that we find that moral clarity inside of us and to ask ourselves, what are we, each of us, doing to be part of giving birth to something new . What are we doing to give birth to something new . In congress, in the house of our local elected legislators, in our communities, in the courts, to make sure that any role that we hold in our communities, that in any institution that were part of in our society, that we are ensuring that immigrants and that all people can live without fear, can thrive, can be free. So lets pray that we find a moral clarity today and lets pray that the justices find that moral clarity as we go through this process. Thank you. [applaus [applause] good morning, everyone. My na i am is leah prada, im the director of Government Affairs for centers for American Progress. We will now introduce someone who has been a longtime champion of the immigrants rights community. She has led legislation to protect dreamers and t. P. C. Recipients. She is one of