>> the director of national intelligence, james clapper spoke at the commencement. it is a federally chartered university vagrants degrees in strategic intelligence. it is celebrating its 50th anniversary. directorroduced by michael flynn. [applause] >> there is a lot of people out here that will receive bachelor's and master's degrees today, but i would want to re- emphasize what was just said, and i would say she has got a doctorate in the national anthem, and that was one of the most beautiful renditions of our national anthem. i would just like to give her another round of applause. [applause] i do not know where she is at. thanks very much to -- that is quite all right. they usually start out like that every time i talk.[laughter] for everybody that has got kids or families, there is everybody on the stage and all of us has gone through these ceremonies. do not worry about kids one bit. we appreciate them being here today. i wanted to say good morning to the graduates. i think what dr. ellison just said was right on the money about where you will be in the future. as you all reach a major milestone in your careers and in the history of niu, it is my honor to congratulate you. in the presence of your families and honored guests and our great staff and faculty that we have, that really makes this institution what it is, you are all graduates as has been already said of the national intelligence university's 50th anniversary class. that is an extraordinary feat for where we are today, and i would like on behalf of everybody here to give you a round of applause for achieving this milestone.[applause] as dr. ellison's mentioned, the institution has grown in size and impact during the first 50 years, from humble origins at the defense intelligence school, housed in world war ii barracks in and the naval station, to an accredited university that offers degrees and represents the entire community. this is a university that is expanding the literature of intelligence every day with publication of books and research from the national intelligence press. it is a university that engages leaders in common dialogue. it is a university that continues to produce the future leaders of our profession and our nation. this year we mark the occasion of our 50th anniversary by being recognized by the nation's most senior leadership for not only the high quality of the education offered, but for the joint nature of that education. this past october, general dempsey named niu a joint official military education phase one accreditation program, the first to receive such approval since before september 11. completion of military education is important for some our military officers and necessary for future promotions and assignments into our joint force. this past february, as the impact was highlighting to director clapper, he took similar action by designating those that are attending the full-time master's program as joint duty and joint duty qualifying for civilians. this is a big deal. it is a tremendous opportunity for the workforce as they advance through their careers. without that accreditation, about the joint duty assignment, you cannot make it into the senior executive service of our intelligence profession. that is a huge shift and another moniker for this university as it continues to some day have people sitting in the position of director clapper or the director of our fbi calling of each other as past classmates, trying to solve complex problems. these milestone achievements highlight the fact that this university is doing exactly what it should be doing, integrating intelligence for a more secure nation one student at a time, while graduating leaders who will lead within our armed forces, the intelligence community, and across government for many years to come. director clapper, i can assure you that this institution has both very deep roots and very bright futures. niu is on its way to achieving your vision of becoming the center of academic life for the united states intelligence community. to the class of 2013, congratulations, and very well done for choosing what you will walk across the stage to receive today, and i would like to give them another round of applause. [applause] you should be proud of yourselves, you have tackled a challenging field of immense proportion and immense importance to our nation. quickly reviewing a list of the thesis topics you can tell how this class has covered almost every corner of the globe, from china, iran, north korea, the middle east, india, africa, philippines, latin america, to here in the united states covering some of the most vital issues that we wrestle with in the intelligence community every day, issues such as terrorism, cyber threats, counterintelligence, space, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and general instability, and so many others. it is a complex world. as our nation will face daunting security challenges ahead, i have full confidence that you are ready to assume the mantels of leadership in your organizations. the common bonds you have formed throughout your joint study here are crucial. remember each of you is a force multiplier for integration and collaboration, which are the keys to avoiding strategic surprise and providing our national leaders that vital decision advantage and confidence they require. i challenge each of you to carry forward niu's culture of integration as you moved your next station. i challenge you to mold the intelligence community and to the organization that in each to be for our nation is the future. it is fitting that on this event of the 50th anniversary of this fine institution we're joined by some of the most distinguished members of our profession, including director clapper and our former international security assistance force and u.s. forces in afghanistan commander general john allen, a graduate of the class of 1984, and i would like to give them both a round of applause. [applause] it is an honor to introduce our commencement speaker, the honorable james clapper, the fourth director of national intelligence. he has a long track record of support for intelligence education and is a special friend to this university, as has been highlighted. as both director of dia and the national spatial intelligence agency as well as the undersecretary of defense and now serving as the fourth director of national intelligence, there's no one that has served our nation and continues to serve our nation during so many trying times that director clapper has done. from his first serving our nation as the united states marine, during his time as a young airman in vietnam, throughout all the difficult times our nation has faced over the past five decades of peace, war, and conflict, what many do not know is that in the mid- 1990's he served as an instructor teaching a course, knowing he would go on to shape this great institution. that is very true, amazing, little knowing that he would go on to shape this great institution that the community has become and to lead that tens of thousands of women and men who make up our tremendous workforce. director clapper was awarded an honorary doctorate by niu in 1992, and it was through his leadership that this institution became the national university. on behalf of all the men and women in the united states intelligence community, all of you that are here, i would like to thank you, and i would like to present to you, to the audience here, as he gets up here and provides the commencement speech, ladies and gentlemen, director clapper.[applause] >> thank you very much. i could not be reminded of the screaming child that was escorted out, and i am mindful of the fact that the younger members of the audience are unimpressed with this whole thing. [laughter] i recall a long time ago when i was the old air force security headquarters in texas, the time i was there every quarter we would run a big parade for retirements. and a bunch of lieutenants, one of whom was me, got together and said why don't we run this thing because we are closer to marching than these field grade officers. when the lieutenant took care of the parade over, i got to be the perpetual adjutant. i was having one of these parades and the point where the adjutant comes up to the commander and said, the parade is formed, and my daughter was sitting on my wife's lap, and she said, hi, daddy, at the top of her lungs, and the crowd broke up, and i am trying to stand here and act very military. i will never forget that. thanks very much for that very kind, gracious introduction. usually when we speak together, we are testifying in front of congress. [laughter] that is quality bonding time. [laughter] ladies and gentlemen of the class of 2013, staff and faculty of the university, and let me mention also the particular hero of mine is general john allen, and at the risk of doing it, i ask for a round of applause for john.[applause] it is a pleasure to be here, and to have the family members here, even the ones that are not too impressed. they do not often get to participate in something in what we do. i was privileged to address the classes of 1992 through 1995 when i had the honor of serving as director, and the class of 2007 i was the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, but this is my first time. this is the best part of my job, getting a chance to congratulate members of the intelligence community for their competence. add on to that i get to welcome you back into your jobs after your vacation here. we have been waiting for you, to put your new superior knowledge to use for a safer america and a more secure world. this month, as was indicated, marks the 50th anniversary of my commissioning as an air force second lieutenant, almost coincidental with the first class of the brand-new defense class graduating. both our titles have changed over the years. dis became the defense intelligence college, where i taught as an adjunct professor, and the national defense intelligence college, and now it is most appropriate the national intelligence university. i am referred to as director, at least in polite company, and had been called general, colonel, etc., and back when the marine corps asic training, i was called several things there which i cannot repeat in mixed company.[laughter] as we developed over the last 50 years, i like to think we have gotten wiser with those name changes, at least niu has. i want to take a moment to commend president ellison and the current staff and faculty for all they have done, and particularly for president ellison's passion and leadership. so i ask for a round of applause for david ellison.[applause] niu is becoming worldwide respected institution with a dynamic and visionary plan. it is not all pie in the sky. you are integrating intelligence, which is a big thing to me, one student at a time, and that is what the i.c. needs from you as graduates. i salute you for that. as they say -- this is an exciting time to be in the intelligence community. most of us would prefer a more boring time, i know i would, but that is not an option. we live with threats from terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cyber, and competition over natural resources. i would go so far to say that as a nation we face more diverse threats now than at any time during my 50-year career in intelligence. shrinking budgets have added to the danger, because it is not realistic to think we can ever do more with less. we are going to do less with less. we will just have to identify and manage risks were closely than before. there have been challenges throughout my career. in my first combat experience was in vietnam, and i will go be going back there next month for the first time since i left in 1966. i'm looking forward to that. intelligence automation in the day was map, a grease pencil, and two corporals. even when moving quickly and headed to desert shield and desert storm, we have come light-years since then, even with all the improvements we made then, particularly in imagery, and 9/11 changed everything. the prevention act was a growth of 9/11 called for greater integration. i felt that was a natural thing for me to take on in this job -- the sum is greater than the parts -- to produce better products for our policy, our decision-makers, whether sitting in a foxhole or the white house. i think that calls for integration, horizontally across the so-called -- and vertically now, the added responsibility we have for attending to state and local and tribal partners. a couple words on budgets. we had a decade of growth after 9/11 in the intelligence community. every year we got more money. now we are in a different mode. we have been through this before. this happened in my time as director and hopefully we can profit from that experience and apply those lessons learned, and as we constrict ourselves, we will do it smarter than we did in the 1990's. we have still important priorities. i have about five, but i will mention the most important one, which are represented here today, and that is our people, which is our most valuable asset. it is the people who will have the ingenuity, the drive, and the innovation to figure out ways to get around and obviate, mitigate these reductions. other challenges, i will not go into detail, but the recent nsa leaks drama crystallizes some conflicting demands on us as intel professionals, a need to safeguard our citizens lives, a duty to share intelligence information, our responsibility to protect sensitive sources and methods, and an imperative to protect american civil liberties and privacy. we must synchronize and meld all these competing forces simultaneously. and we should preferably do it out of the limelight. we serve our nation, and for us that is satisfaction enough. now we are at the part of any graduation speech that always makes me cringe, which is giving advice for the future. this will be really short. i realize once you achieve geezerdom, as i have, people expect some pearls of wisdom. i do not know if this qualifies, but here are five rules of thumb i try to subscribe to. now that you have made all these great connections with classmates from every part of the i.c. and government, it is time to think beyond your organization. you need to build those strong partnerships, as the president alluded to the phone call between the phone call of the director of the cia and fbi, and that works, so i need you, the most recently educated, to understand the concept of intelligence integration. do not confuse integration across agencies with making every agency and organization into the same bland oatmeal. integrate across organizational lines to take advantage of the diversity as represented in this class and the strength of different organizations with their unique capabilities. there are things about stovepipes, cultures, and tradecraft that are worth preserving. that is a term used pejoratively, but also an important capability for us. do not gloss over problems. meet them early and head on. bad news does not good get better with age, but the key part of leadership is recognizing when a mistake is made you need to correct the situation as quickly and thoroughly as possible. try to stay calm under pressure. it is right there on the cover of "the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy." do not panic. be kind. it goes a long way, much further than you realize. do not neglect your work-life balance. family and friends help you get there. you want them to be there for the rest of your career when you retire. take care of yourself physically and mentally. a strong body and a clear head are central to clear decision- making. 66 years ago today, president truman signed the national security act which created dod, department of the air force, cia, and joint chiefs of staff. he signed this directive aboard the douglas skymaster c-54, which in the day, instead of being air force one, was called sacred cow. as an expression, a sacred cow is something to do that so much reverence it is immune from criticism and that everyone is reluctant to change. that is the way it has always been. we cannot think that way in our business. with one stroke of a pen, truman changed our u.s. national security and how it was organized. there would be many more changes in next half-century since he signed that document in name and organization and otherwise. my hope is both the national intelligence university and each of you will continue to improve with age, just like fine wine. another great president, theodore roosevelt, said old age is like everything else -- to make a success of it you have to start young. you might notice i think about these kinds of philosophical musings. best of luck to all of you, and many, many congratulations. it is a proud day for you and your families him, and i am proud to serve with you as we work together to keep this country and our allies say. god bless all of you and god bless america. thank you very much.[applause] newsmakers, ron wyden a member of the senate intelligence committee talks about the nsa data collection program and his views on the pitch with act. >> the bipartisan vote in support of an amendment this week as part of the defense appropriations bill. are you working on a similar proposal with the democrats? >> i am deftly working with the democrats and republicans to overhaul this program dramatically. there've been a number of discussions already with senators on both sides of the al -- aisle. the discussion has accelerated since that vote. we have already a quarter in the senate on record saying they are very interested in pursuing certainly the issue that are central to this debate. that is the reason we insisted on finally getting answers. to answer your question, yes. you are going to say strong and bipartisan effort on the work of the house and the problem that i intrudes on the privacy and liberties of millions of law-abiding citizens. >> you go watch all of his speech on our website at c- span.org. he will be our guest on newsmakers. that airs this sunday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. here on c-span. >> the treatment of hunger strikers at guantánamo compromises the core ethical values of our medical professional. the ama has endorsed the prince bull that every competent patient has the right to refuseó medical intervention. the world medical association and international red cross have determined that force-feeding through restraint is not only an ethical violation. that let us set aside the numbers that you might or might not feel you can safely push out. there are a number, an unknown number, the president has said 46. do you honestly think that people behind me and who are impelling this hearing. just because they are in theww states.wwwwwwwwwwww >> the fear-based argument tow keep thewwwww guantánamo fs hard to understand. --wwwwwwwwwwwwñs 10:00 a.m. easternçççççç >> this week the house held a hearing on the status of young people who grew up in the united states after being brought to the country illegally. congress is considering changing legislation to provide them with a path to citizenship. in this part of the hearing, members of congress testify in support of the changes. the hearing is chaired by trey gowdy. >> good afternoon. the subcommittee will come to order without objection. the chair is authorized to declare recess at any time. this is a hearing entitled "addressing immigration status of illegal immigrants rot to the united states as children. oh we welcome our witnesses. witnessest to our momentarily. when sherman goodlatte had the first immigration hearing months ago, i said we were looking for a remedy that would last a lifetime. , not a political remedy but a real remedy that is best for our country. i said that we could find a synthesis or harmony between the passion that defines us as a people and the respect for the rule of law that defines us as a republic. the judiciary committee has held nearly a dozen hearings on aspects of our system and passed bills including legislation to strengthen enforcement. andnow border security interior enforcement are the only guarantee that we will not recently -- repeat the mistakes of the past. the issue of bringing children to this country is not new. congress has considered it since 2001 but it is a new issue for this congress and several members of this subcommittee. we all view children as a special protected class. we have all witnessed acts of heroism where total strangers risk and sacrifice their lives for other people's children. we admire teachers and other professionals who dedicate their lives to helping other people's children. children and the issues that impact their lives unite us like nothing else. because children are a special class, the law treats children differently in almost every regard. when children wander in a neighborhood, we don't call that trespassing. when children cry at restaurants or on airplanes, we don't call that a violation of the noise ordinance. when children eat a grape at the grocery store or eat a piece of candy waiting in line, we don't call that petty larceny. contracts,n sign can't vote, can't purchase certain items, cap work in certain instances because the law treats children differently. troublen they do get in legally, the system is completely separate. even the purpose of the system is different. the purpose of the system is to punish. the purpose of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate and restore. the law treats children differently for a variety of reasons, including the fact that children can't form the intent necessary to violate the law. intent is a necessary element of every criminal offense. children who were brought here have not committed a crime. -- theimate have, but adults may have. the children have not. that is not an expression of passion. that is the law. there are an estimated one point three 5 million undocumented of 18.n under the age in recent months, i have heard from organizations aimed at granting legal status for this subset of undocumented immigrants. carolina and south as far as california. my good friend jeff denham was gracious enough to let me visit him. i remember a young lady at your town hall who for all of her life grew up thinking she was an american citizen. she never knew any different. she lead a virtuous life, good grades, hard work, community involvement, active in church. exactly the kind of person you and i would want to be, a fellow citizen. she was polite, persuasive, she had one question. what country am i supposed to go back to? this is the only country i have ever known. hope,there is an obvious those same equities do not apply in the same regard to the remainder of the 11 million undocumented immigrants. they may or may not have other equities to argue. let me say this as plainly as i can. attempts to group the entire of 11 million into one homogeneous hurtingll only wind up the most vulnerable. to earn the respect of our fellow citizens we must ensure there are sufficient screening mechanisms so those who seek the benefit without a factual basis are identified. in conclusion, we are a nation of laws because law provides order and structure and predictability and peace and equality and justice. compassion is good, but it can add and flow with the perspective of the individual. the law remains sturdy and strong as the foundation upon which we live. i will support and defend the constitution and laws of the u.s. against all enemies. i will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. i will bear arms on behalf of the u.s. when required by law. i will perform service in the armed forces as required by the law. i will work when required by the law. that is not an oath for congress. that is the oath of citizenship. that is the pledge and promise each makes hand on heart to their soon to be fellow citizens. five distinct references to the law and just a single paragraph of the oath. if we expect people to support and live by the law after they become citizens, what possible explanation can exist for not applying the law to the process of becoming a citizen? the equities are all decided. is also on the side of these children. the law stands above equity and opinion. america is different. we are compassionate and free, but most of all we are a nation of laws. that is one reason people so desperately want to come here in the first place. recognize the general lady from california, ms. lofgren. >> this is an important issue in our system, the treatment of undocumented young people who are brought to the u.s. as children. these are kids who have grown up in this country, attended american high schools, who often know no other country as him. this subcommittee last held a hearing about them in 2007 when three young women testified about their lives. one witness grew up in california, graduated in garden grove california, from ucla and a bachelors program with honors. she was in the phd program in american civilization at brown university. she was serving as a leading voice in support of the dream act which she and a close friend died in a car crash on may 15, 2010. i wanted to recognize her as we begin this hearing because i am mindful of what martin luther king junior referred to. right now, we have an opportunity to fix our broken immigration system and it would be a national shame if we were unable to do that. , anpart of that fix important and compelling part of that fix, is to ensure that dreamers have an opportunity to become just as american on paper as they already are in their hearts. i believe that a strong bipartisan -- there is a strong bipartisan support for that, and i am encouraged by what i have heard on this issue from republican members including those in leadership over the past few months. in some ways, this is not new. the dream act was first introduced as bipartisan legislation in 2001 and has had bipartisan support ever since. the breath of support in congress -- i am extremely pleased that this will be reflected by the witnesses testifying today. it is -- as encouraged as i am, i must also say that i have concerns about some of what i have read in the press leading up to this hearing. i understand that the majority leader and chairman goodlatte are working on a proposal that is rumored to be called the kids act. their desire to become champions for this issue is positive development. it is a testament to the hard work that dreamers themselves to build a coalition by telling their stories and advocating for change. like the bills that this committee markup in june, we have not yet seen the language of the kids act and we have not been asked to contribute to the effort. while i am looking forward to reviewing the act, i know that this is a sharp archer or the history of the dream act. legislation was always drafted and introduced with bipartisan support. i am even more concerned about reports that some republican members may be working on legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants other than the dreamers to obtain temporary lawful status without a specific path to legal residency. i recognize that this represents progress and i welcome that. i believe it shows a growing appreciation that we cannot fix our broken immigration system without addressing the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are part of our communities. i believe it would be a grave mistake to allow millions of people to come out of the shadows, obtain immigration status only to leave them in a second-class status for the rest of their lives. partial legalization is a dangerous path. we need only to look at france and germany to see how unwise it is to create a permanent underclass. what makes america special is that people come here. they assimilate, they become fully american with all of the rights and responsibilities that citizenship bestows. american people agree. in a recent poll, americans were asked the following questions, would you favor or oppose each of the following as part of legislation to address the issue of illegal immigration? they were provided various components of top to bottom reform, mandatory verifying, border security, visas for skilled workers, and "allowing illegal immigrants to become citizens." favored a path to citizenship for the undocumented. support was overwhelmingly strong across all ethnic groups. among conservative non-hispanic white respondents, 83% favored a path to citizenship and only 17% opposed. we have an opportunity to do something that will help economy, anmerica's opportunity to keep families together, and for everyone who agrees with the rule of law, we have an opportunity to design an immigration system that promotes law-abiding behavior instead of our current one that depends upon lawbreaking. this opportunity is not coming off. my entire time in congress, 18 years, has been spent looking for an opening to fix our broken immigration system. this is that time. the senate passed a bipartisan immigration reform bill and i am doing everything i can to make sure the house is able to do the same. if we work together, i think we can make that happen and i think our country will be better as a result. we know that our history as a country, america was formed by immigrants and we will not serve our country well unless we ensure that our future also welcomes the immigrants that will help tilt a stronger america. i thank you, mr. chairman, and yield back. >> thank you. the chair will next recognize the chairman from virginia. >> thank you, chairman gaudi. thank you for your compelling opening statement. when most americans think about illegal immigration's, they picture of adults crossing the desert of the southwest u.s. border. not every immigrant can be placed in the same category. ame did come here by paying coyote to smuggle them across the border. some came here legally on a visa and didn't leave when their time expired so they could work illegally. ofre is another class unlawfully present aliens, a class who deserve to be considered from a different perspective. i am talking about aliens brought here as children. they had no input into their parent's decision to bring the family to the u.s. illegally. many of them know no other home than the u.s. having grown up as americans since they were toddlers. they don't share the culpability of their parents. i have spoken about the fact that as part of the step-by-step should look at whether we as a nation should allow this group of young people to stay in the u.s. legally. while this is an important piece of immigration reform, it too must be accomplished effectively and responsibly to ensure that several years from now, congress is not once again being asked to pass more legislation dealing with the immigration status of a new group of young people. to that end, i do not believe that parents who made the decision to illegally enter the u.s. while forcing their children to do them should be afforded the same treatment as the kids. let's be clear. parents bringing kids to the u.s. illegally is not something we want to encourage. not only because it leads to continued illegal immigration, but because illegally crossing the border is dangerous. we have seen the pictures and video of children who are dehydrated and lethargic from an arduous trek across the desert with their parents or with smugglers paid by their parents. these border crossings include everything from handling a child over to a coyote in hopes of getting the child to the u.s., to placing the child in the back of a semi truck in hopes that customs officers wouldn't detect the human presence in the trailer, to bringing a child down into a tunnel built between mexico and the u.s. knowing that at any moment it could collapse. these are all kinds of things that immigration reform must ensure come to an end. enforcement at the border is crucial to ending these kinds of situations. this committee has passed legislation to strengthen the enforcement of our immigration laws. however, successful immigration reform must also look at how to address the significant population of illegal immigrants who are already here and who are brought here as young children by their parents. it needs to acknowledge that just because there is a group of children, does not mean they should all be treated the same. if they have joined gangs or been involved in criminal activity such as entering the country as a drug mule, or if they have otherwise shown that they do not intend to be productive members of society, they should not be treated the same for purposes of legal status as young children but here by their parents. i am pleased that the chairman is taking the time to look at this issue today. i look forward to hearing the testimony. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. >> thank you, chairman goodlatte. requestse been other for opening statements. we will get to you as quickly as we can. , theognize mr. garcia gentleman from florida. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i wish to thank the chairman. he and many on the other side are trying to find a solution for this problem. the right solution. a just, american solution. that said, when members of this committee, members of this house use inflammatory language, use offensive language, it does not help the process. in my district, i have multiple schools who produce valedictorians on a regular basis. they are undocumented. when members of this house used language such as, for everyone that is a valedictorian, there is another 100 who weigh 130 pounds and have cats decides -- calves the size of cantaloupes because they have been hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert, it is offensive. it is beneath the dignity of this body and this country. i colleagues are trying hard, know that the ranking member on our side has been working very hard to find a solution, but this is an american problem. we need to work together. we need to stop pointing fingers and finding a pathway forward. i look forward to the goodwill of all this house to try to find a way to solve this american problem. thank you. >> thanks to the gentleman from florida. the chair recognizes the non- woman from iowa. >> thank you, mr. chairman. my purpose in requesting time here is to help set the tone of little differently. when i see that we have eight witnesses lined up on one side of the agenda and for people lined up to speak as opening statements, and then we hear from the eight witnesses, and then maybe you hear from someone who happens to disagree with this concept called the contact. -- the kids act. have a bill before us. we can't look at the language of a bill and take a position on that language. we are here examining a concept, a potential bill that is not yet before us. this is the opposite order that we usually conduct is nice with in this congress. i suggest that in the future we turn that around, and have a bill before us that we can have witnesses testified to. we all have sympathy for children brought here without knowledge that they were breaking the law. i do not think that the definition of a child cannot form intent, that doesn't stick when i look at the way people we punish for other crimes. i disagree with the chairman on that particular subject. whose fault is it? it is not the children's fault if they are children. it is not their fault if they are unaware. it is not their fault if there parents brought them to the united states. they are subject to the application of the law. whose fault is it? is it the parents fault? i think so. to advocate that we punish the parents for bringing their children into a situation where they all find themselves in contradiction of the law? is this being set up as a broader picture of a backdoor amnesty so that all people who are unlawfully in the u.s. which -- with those exceptions identified, they would be examined. otherwise everybody in america is trying to get legalized by the senate gang of eight, maybe implicitly in an action that may come from this bill. i am concerned about that. if you legalize people in this country unlawfully and wave the application of law on their parents, then who do you enforce everybodyainst if that has committed the felony is now legalized? and everybody that comes after this point, when do you start to enforce the law if we can't enforce it today? on the next one that arrives with a one week old baby? i don't think so. advocated course here by our witnesses i expect, is we will do this little sliver here because it tugs at our heart. it tugs at my heart to. chairman'sto the statement when he said he wants a remedy that will last a lifetime. we have a higher responsibility. we have to preserve the rule of law so that this country can last for many generations into the future. the lifetime of the united states of america. the rule of law with regard to immigration, then what you have done is suspended the law in a category. forou can suspend the law people that will come here illegally, and those who have been reported in the past and you invite them to come back again? then, what you have done is sacrificed the rule of law on the altar of political expediency and the result will be, american immigration law will not be set by americans. it will be set by the people that can circumvent border security. i promise you, it will not come. it did not come in 1986. this administration is not serious about enforcing the law. they will make promises that they need to in order to do what they want to do. they are willing to sacrifice the rule of law for political power. we have 100 million americans and working age who are not in the workforce and we are talking about giving a reward for breaking the law. we must take this back to the essential fundamental principle. i appreciate the chairman yielding me sometime and i look forward to the testimony of the witnesses. --m hopeful that i will hear will not hear that statement in any testimony. >> the chair now recognizes the lady from texas. mr. chairman, this is a good start. however for this those of us who are senior members, for more than a decade. i thank you and congress moment -- congresswoman lofgren for the testimony today. worthy tothat it is hear members of congress and to find that common ground. it is also worthy to hear the opposition, but it is also well to note that we as legislators are best when we act on behalf of the american people and strike a compromise. the difficulty as i have listened to my good friend is that we will go nowhere if we cannot find a common ground. or we do not have those who can see compromise on the horizon. the one thing that we cannot compromise on, and i said this earlier, in remarks around the dreamers, and i thank them for they have been a spark plug that has drawn interest of our friends on the other side of the aisle, is that we are commemorating and celebrating ramadan but we also have principles and the christian faith. one of them is where this young woman intrigues her mother-in- law not to leave her. she had come close to her mother-in-law. she asked that her mother-in-law not go somewhere else and leave her. we want to tell the dream act children that they can stay, but we don't know about your parents. is it if we tell our dream act children that they can stay but we tell them not to honor their mother and father? we have a format. we have comprehensive immigration reform. we can listen to individual suggestions. i have seen bills that may be advantageous. they may beidn't -- put into the larger framework that others have been working on over the years. we cannot move forward if we have motions on the floor of the house, for example, voted enthusiastically to on fund the funding that would process dream act children. how can you say that you are interested in moving forward when we have struck a chord of dissension by taking away the dollars that would help move the process forward? even if we are to take this one bill at a time. i will say this as i wrap up. i have spent a number of years. immigration an hearing that we invite you all to come to in texas on the 29th. we want people to come far and wide. members of congress are coming in from around our state. we are looking to delineate interests and commitment as one of the largest states in the union in terms of comprehensive immigration reform. this morning, we heard that it is not only business persons, but it is evangelical or the faith community and business. we hope to strike a chord. who members of congress believe in business, you can vote for immigration reform. members of congress who believe in the faith community and want to bring people together, you can vote for a comprehensive approach. certainly, if you adhere to law- enforcement who have cried out, you can do that. most importantly, if you believe in humanity. if you believe in the young ,eople that maybe you don't see that come into our office with tears in their eyes, yes valedictorians, young men and women, i know there is a bill talking about those who serve in the military. who stopped me while i was shaking his hand on the platform of graduation, he stopped me as we were shaking hands wishing him well, he said, i want to go into the service. he can't go there. he didn't stop me and say he wanted to go on vacation or wanted a big-time job. he wanted to serve his nation, but he had an obstacle. if you see those kinds of the onlythat you know approach we can take is comprehensive immigration reform. if you see the tears, that is the approach we should take. thise mr. chairman, that committee will see a comprehensive initiative and we will be voting sooner than later for a better america. >> the chair recognizes now the gentleman from texas. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for holding this hearing as well as the numerous hearings we have had and the step-by-step approach towards immigration reform legislation. i want to make my comments center on the phrase "breaking the law." breaking the law. it is estimated that over 1.3 million children were brought here from foreign countries without their consent by their parents who were under the age of 10. 1.3 million rod here under the age of 10. everywhere in our law that i am aware of, there must be some intent for the act to be committed, either civil intent to form a contract, criminal intent to commit a crime, in most states at 10 and under, a person cannot form intent to do anything. contract,rime, sign a the law says they are a child. chairman,e said, mr. immigration law is the only place i know of where intent is not required to be considered "illegal." time that we bring the law up to the standard of all laws in the united states, that a child cannot form the intent to commit an act that is illegal in the united states. therefore, we should look at children brought here by their parents, 10 and under, whatever age we use. as not being able to have a legal status because they cannot consent to the act. they did not make that determination mentally. therefore, they should be treated in a special way. they are children brought here with no intent to have the status that they have. that status was given to them by their parents. breaking the law, i am not so sure that we can say they have broken the law because their status should not be retroactive after they reach a certain age. their age at the time that they were brought here. 1.3 million brought here under the age of 10. nowhere else in our law conecuh merson -- can a person commits a violation of the law under the age of 10. it is time that we deal with these special children in a special way. bring them in to our society and rectifyingd with this error in our immigration , asand make sure that we the chairman has said, have compassion, that we follow the rule of law, and that we move forward with recognizing these children. i have met numerous individuals that were brought here as a child. some of them served in our military overseas -- afghanistan, iraq. so, i think this hearing is very important, hearing from several members of congress about this unique, special issue in the entire discussion of immigration legislation, dealing with those children that were brought here not by their choice and their in tent, but the choice and intent of someone else. i will yield back. >> i believe there was one more request from the german from idaho? request, butnot a i will do with the chairman tells me to do. ushink it is important for as americans that we comply first with the rule of law, second look at what the security of our nation is, and thirdly look at what we need to do to make sure the mistakes we have made in the past with respect to the enforcement of our laws, then they can be corrected. i think this is an important hearing. i like the tone we have set forth so far and i want to make sure we can continue to have this town and conversation about what to do about people that came here as young people, and i want to make something clear that i have said in public and private. is no right to citizenship in the united states. it is a privilege provided by the law and our constitution, and it is something that we need theiscuss how to do it in best way so that we can prevent making the same mistakes we made in 1986 and that we have made over the last 30 or so years. i want to say thank you for being here, thank you for your efforts, and i will continue to do something to make sure we can find a way for us to actually resolve the problems that are facing us, which are grave problems affecting the future of the united states. thank you. >> thank you. we are privileged to have two wonderful panels. the first of which are four of our distinguished colleagues with a distinguished resume. i would invite viewers to look at their resume in more detail. luis gutierrez, we are anxious for you to join the subcommittee. i am not going to read the biographies, but i will recognize representative denman -- denham, representative kaufman --presented ffman.entative co with that, representative cof fman. you may want to punch the button on -- [indiscernible] i believe the answer to that question is yes. [indiscernible] we enjoy the freedoms that we .ave today [indiscernible] family.rom a military veteran andcombat served in the united states army separate -- marine corps. all, i think we need to remember that the role of the united states military is to nation, and the goal will always be the national security of our country. [indiscernible] us -- [indiscernible] [indiscernible] i think the answer is clearly yes. [indiscernible] first, a military in the aftermath of vietnam that suffered from low morale, poor discipline and a question mark behind its combat rating. since recruiting and retention standardscult, [indiscernible] comparison between the military of the 1970's and that of today. -- thed states military united states military of today is smaller in size but it is an elite force. when the civilian job market improves, retaining the quality of the force will become more challenging. entitled "ready, willing, and able to serve," found that 75% of young people are not filled for -- fit for military service, because they do not have a high school diploma, are overweight, or have a history of substance abuse. this legislation. play a role. -- could play a role. the enlistment opportunity act provides reforms to our recruiting regulations that would allow certain undocumented residents of the united states to apply for military service after they have first been vetted by the department of homeland security. the vetting would only mean that the individual is eligible to apply to serve in the military -- and it would be up to each respective branch of service as to whether or not to accept these applicants. resident or green card holders allowed to enlist in the military -- permanent residents or green card holders are allowed to enlist today, for they are restricted in what occupation field they can do. only u.s. citizens can hold a security clearance and without a security clearance, an increasing number of occupational fields are off limits. opening up enlistment opportunities to undocumented residents would only aggregate and additional problem -- an additional problem. more and more would require security solutions. my solution is to grant citizenship at the beginning of their enlistment for both permanent residence and for those individuals that were previous on -- previously undocumented and would now be allowed to enter the military, enabling the military to use all of their soldiers, marines and airmen to their best and highest potential because they would no longer be restricted from entering the majority of career fields. however, in doing so, my legislation makes the citizenship revocable should the servicemember receives a less than honorable discharge within five years. years.it is eight servicemembers are still available to be recalled and return to active duty. i strongly believe that by allowing these young people who we are talking about today to serve in our military, it is not , butthe right thing to do it will serve to strengthen the national security of our country. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. denham, i want to make sure the microphones are fully functional, so we may need to stand down for 30, 45 seconds. >> -- -- chairman trey .owdy >> it is definitely working, brother. >> i wanted to say thank you for the time you dedicated. it is much appreciated by me and the folks in my district. also, thank you to the members of this committee for dedicating so much time to fix this problem. i want to fix this once in my lifetime. it is a huge priority, a personal priority, but it is also something that i believe will grow the economy of california and contribute to the greatness of america. on a personal note, i witnessed the trials and the joys of immigration to my own family. my father-in-law is a naturalized citizen from mexico. my wife and her siblings, first- generation americans. proud when my father- in-law, a very proud man, asked me to help them study for his citizenship test. it is a big deal. not everybody wants to become a citizen, but those that do are willing to work hard to make this country great. i know we are here today to talk about kids that have been brought here through no fault of topic,wn, an important and i look forward to engaging on a variety of other issues, specifically on this topic, one of the bills that is already in an that a number of you have already cosponsored that would be part of the kids at would be the enlist act, and during my 16 years of serving in the united states air force i served along many foreign nationals that were able to learn citizenship through putting their lives on the line for americans in the armed services. our nation has never made citizenship a requirement for service in our armed forces. 50% of enlistees in the 1840's were immigrants. 660,000 military veterans became citizens through naturalization between 1862 and the most recent numbers of 2000. individuals from the marshall islands, american samoa, they gained citizenship today through military service. was passed to allow the military to recruit from europe and other nations overseas to fill critical roles. 1990, 34,620and filipinos, any of which i served with, enlisted in the navy and granted -- were granted u.s. citizenship. act,roduced the enlist which authorizes the enlistment in the armed forces of undocumented inc. -- immigrants that were brought in to the united states as children and are qualified for enlistment. it will provide a way for the undocumented immigrants to be lawfully admitted to the u.s. for permanent residence by reason of their honorable service and sacrifice in the ..s. military not the only way, but certainly a way to show their dedication to this great country that we have. the enlist act will only affect a certain population of kids who have been in the united states since the age of 15 and are experiencedrom patriotism under current military code. this would provide the military with a talent pool of young men and women come many of whom would have strategically valuable language and cultural competencies. i met with a constituency, gloria sanchez, who was recruited by the marines from modesto high school. herday after completing forms, she was asked for her social security number, which she did not have a cushy was brought here unlawfully. did not have because she was brought here unlawfully. one thing we should all agree on is that we must require those that came here illegally to get back before they can receive any additional benefits. as someone who served, i remember the pride and i felt wearing the uniform and i cannot think of a better way for these young people to earn the right to fully share in the rights and freedoms of america. i would just like to point out one other thing. as we have traveled around this district, the state, and i have even spent time in other districts around the nation -- i have talked to a large number of immigrants, and a lot of kids. [speaking spanish] i get an interesting look -- we do not speak spanish. we speak english. they intend -- their entire lives they have gone to our schools with our kids. it is an issue that we have to address. this is a big challenge, addressing the entire immigration system, but i think, wecifically on this issue, have to address this issue and we need to address it now. to me finish by saying that last month i appreciated chairman goodlatte and house democratic wecus chairman becerra when had a colloquy on the floor dealing with the enlist act, and both said they were willing to work together in making sure this issue becomes a reality. i appreciate your willingness to do that. this is an important part of this package and i hope this committee and the entire house will consider the enlist act as one of the ways -- one of the ways, for undocumented individuals to legalize without providing opportunities to learn a legal status, or a body will not resolve our immigration status -- there is no better way than putting your life on the line for this country to become an american citizen. i yield back. >> thank you, mr. denham. mr. gardner. -- >> thank you, mr. chairman and members of the committee for the opportunity to testify. my statement has been submitted for the record. this hearing is an important step in addressing immigration reform in a systematic manner. our current system is broken. importantn is an issue for my district and for everyone on this panel. ignore immigration law for approximately two decades has resulted in million people in the united states without documentation. 42% were once here legally, but overstay their visas. the 1986 mill has proven -- bill has proven unworkable. have deliberation and debate surrounding each piece of reform and we must begin with border security and interior enforcement. we cannot simply put reform to the side because it is unworkable or the political will is simply not present to make it work. we have the chance to prove to be american people that the federal government can be trusted to build a long-term and common sense system. it has been signed by many that the united states is a nation of immigrants, and i imagine if i was not blessed to be born in this country i would have done everything i could to be in this country, but we are also a nation of laws. our current immigration laws have proven inadequate and are not being enforced. if a law is not enforced or it is ignored, we no longer remain a nation of laws and the bill is worth little more than the paper that is worth on. commerce must build the new immigration laws that stand strong and secure but still allow a workable system for people that want to be part of this great nation and help the economy to do so. i urge the house to be guided by law and fairness during this well to fairness as those currently waiting in the legal process. any immigration reform must first begin with border security and interior enforcement and i will not support reform that fails to include strong security enforcement measures. not only do the measures need to exist but there must be confirmation from incredible amount outside entity that these measures have been satisfied and implemented. no one should simply choose to not enforce the law or wave it. once we have secured our borders and our enforcing the law and guarantee these measures are working mainly love to -- may we look to other reforms. the children and young adults that for all intents and purposes are culturally american -- the children they grew up in the united states and go to school with our children and grandchildren, with my daughter. this is an issue of fairness, law and compassion. many of these children know no other nation except for the united states. their parents made a decision to enter the country illegally and our broken system did nothing to prevent it. they deserve to be afforded some form that organizes they are here through no fault of their own. it was not there decision to not follow the law. i believe members across the aisle can agree that providing them with some sort of immigration relief is the fair thing to do but it must be part of a step-by-step reform package. the legislation addressing these young individual should not provide them with treatment that is unfair to those already following the legal process. any legislation addressing the children would need to be solely for the benefit of the child and not anyone else, you cannot elicit chain migration. during the process, we must find the appropriate balance. while these children remain innocent, we cannot award family members that have broken the law . i have a story i would like to share with the committee. in 2005, i had just been approached -- appointed to the colorado state legislature and i held one of my first town meetings on the eastern plains in a small farm town. the government teacher of the local high school brought the entire class to attend the meeting. there were not many of them, but during questions and answers a young girl introduced herself and stated she was graduating first in her class, the valedictorian of her senior class, and she had gone to school with those classmates since her kindergarten here. she said she was brought to the country when she was only a few months old, illegally, and she asked the question that i will never forget -- you support in- state tuition for illegal aliens, she asked. i told her i did not because allowing passage of such a policy was avoiding a real problem, failing to address the overall need for immigration reform and we cannot start with in-state tuition because we have to pursue meaningful immigration reform to fix the broken nature of our process before anything else could happen. about one month ago i was in the same small town in the eastern plains, and i ran into this young girl once again. same girl, the valedictorian of her high school, waiting tables. eight years later, we talked once again about the need for immigration reform. eight years later, nothing has happened. cannot justongress talk about immigration reform. congress must act. while there will be strong disagreement about what to do, how to proceed and what the end the policy will ultimately look like, we simply cannot do nothing. we must act, and i think we can do so in a way that 30 years from now, 100 years from now, future residents among both immigrant and nonimmigrant could say back then they did the right thing and it is working. he went to the committee for the opportunity to testify today. >> thank you, mr. gardner. gutiérrez.nize mr. >> thank you, chairman and ranking member lofgren for allowing me to testify. 12 years ago i introduced the first bill to legalize the status of young people brought to this country by their parents. the immigrant children's educational advantage and dropout prevention act, 2001. since i introduced at first bill , the movement for illegal immigration, immigration reform and legalization has grown broader and deeper. in every community today there are young people, religious people, women, business owners, immigrant moms and dads, and regular civic minded u.s. citizens are organizing to make sure we pass immigration reform this year in the u.s. congress. over the august recess members of this committee and members of the house of representatives will see that the desire for reform is real and present in their communities across the nation. we have heard the speaker of the house and the majority leader and a wide array of republican voices they are for legalizing children under certain circumstances, including a pathway to citizenship. dreamers and others who support immigration reform must be pretty darn persuasive. look how far we have come. eight months ago the republican party platform said report them all, and make everyone pass arizona sb-1070. just a month ago, republicans voted to kill the funding for the deferred action for childhood arrival. through this ago every syntel -- every single republican in this voted to make every undocumented young person a criminal and i am not here to chastise you, but you to say thank you for taking a step in the direction of justice today. now, let us find a way to walk forward together tomorrow. those of us that have sat at the immigration reform table for many lonely years are glad you are stepping up and engaging in a conversation with us. we need you. without you, we cannot achieve success. if the public and majority is starting with the dreamers because that is as far as you are willing to go in terms of legal status for undocumented immigrants, i say thank you for coming this far because even a small step in the right direction is the first step in any good faith negotiation. it says compromise may indeed be behin reach, but let me crystal clear and unequivocal -- legalizing only the dreamers is not enough. it would not be enough given the years and decades of hard work and equity millions of immigrants have built in this country. it would not be enough to satisfy the intent, hunger for legality in the immigrant that soy, the pride many want to say one day i am an american city and it is not enough to restore the rule of law to fix broken immigration. i have met with dreamers, there moms and dads and i want the same thing for their kids that i want for my two wonderful daughters -- i want an indivisible family. i cannot imagine that republicans who i know also honor the sanctity of families want to legalize the children but leave the rest of the family for mobile to our broken immigration system. after the election i travel to missouri to meet with united we dream another dream activists and leaders and i was told in no uncertain terms that they would not leave their parents behind. i will let them speak for themselves because they are well and fully capable of doing so, but let me tell you what i saw. i saw a maturity and a level of confidence that i think any politician would be a fool not to consider. they will not settle for what is good for them if they cannot also when what is good for their family. why,now what, you know because their parents instilled values in them -- good and decent kids are raised by good and decent parents. children forhe being outstanding and "the kinds mustmigrants we like" we honor the parents that helped raise them to be outstanding. i suspect -- no, chairman dowdy -- chairman trey gowdy, i know, there is more to come. i fully believe this hearing is just the first step. i am optimistic that once you take the first step toward justice you will take a second and as many steps as it takes until the first is extinguished. i want all of us to walk there together. once you see that standing up for young and talented immigrants feels good and right, you'll want to stand up also for their parents that raised and nurtured them. the dreamers will remember, the nation will remember forever how this congress and this country treated their parents. we have come such a long way and we need to work together to keep america moving forward. like torman, i would ask unanimous consent that the op-ed written by my colleague, smith might -- congressman mike man, published this past sunday in "the denver post," be submitted for the record. i have traveled several places, but the outfit in denver was one of the most welcoming i have ever seen. i would like that introduced into the record. mr. chairman, i would like to introduce into the record and editorial from "the bakersfield the home of a congressman with whom i shared a stage this past saturday in bakersfield. this editorial praises him for his willingness to compromise and engage members on both sides of the aisle on the immigration issue. i am asking that that also included in the record. >> without objection. thank you, mr. gutiérrez. on behalf of all of us, i recognize your need on the floor , in committee, and your constituents waiting on you, and the fact that the four of you would take the time and testify, we are grateful for your perspective and insight. we have another panel, so we will stand down for a moment, while the three of you go about, and mr. gutiérrez will hopefully join us. with that, we will be in recess for about five minutes. with thel continue rest of this hearing after a short break. the house returns tuesday at noon eastern time for general speeches, 2:00 p.m. for legislative work. on the agenda, a bill focused on transportation and housing programs next year. housing leaders will also take on -- house leaders will also take on a bill addressing the doubling of student loan interest rates. the latest version was approved wednesday by a vote of 81-18. monday.te returns they will begin the week by debating the nomination of james comey to be the director of the fbi. a vote is expected at 5:30 eastern monday. the senate will also consider three nominations to the national labor relations board. as always, you can watch the house last on -- live on c-span and the senate live on c-span two. >> this is a website. really, it is the history of popular culture, and it is a collection in stories on the history of popular culture. -- it isp culture quite more than that. what i have been trying to do with the site is go into more popular culture and sports ands other arenas. it is not just about pop culture. our stories about popular music, sports biography, the history of media entities -- newspaper histories -- there are a range of things. when i formulated the site i purposely cast a line that to see what would work. >> more with pophistorydig.com founder and publisher jack doyle sunday at eight on c-span's "q&a ." >> back to the house edition or a subcommittee on immigration and border security. the second panel is made up for advocates for immigrants and the relatives of undocumented immigrants who were brought into the country as children. this part of the hearing is one hour and a half. >> i want to say thank you to the first panel for their expertise in turn our attention to the second panel and we are presence.or their we'll begin with nonmember residents and have them rise and take a note -- and over. do you swear the testimony is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god? thethe record reflect that witnesses answered in the affirmative. you may be seated. thank you again, and i am going of your biographies at once, and then recognize you individually for your five minute opening statement. we will start with dr. barrett for thece president ethics and religious liberty commission. he has been with the group since 1997. from criswellated college and been received and that -- received a masters in in old testament studies and a ba in theological studies. also received a degree from the school of theology at the university of denver. mchugh,have ms. margie our next witness, codirector where she provides in depth research and policy analysis a broad range of immigrant immigration issues. , she servedning npi as executive director director of the new york immigration coalition and as deputy director of the new york city census project and as an assistant to new york mayor ed koch's chief of staff. ms. pamela rivera is the native of florida and the daughter of immigrants from colombia. she is a graduate of florida state university and is currently pursuing a master's degree at the university of florida. she has worked for various non- profit causes including the salvation army. although she is an american citizen, her sister is an undocumented immigrant that was asught to the united states an undocumented immigrant by her parents. welcome a board member of the committeenited coalition. she was brought to the united states unlawfully which was five years old and is designed in arkansas nearly her entire life. she is at henderson state university where she is pursuing two masters degrees. ms. rosa velazquez. dr. duke, we will start with you. he will have light panels and amy with a traditionally mean, green is gold, yellow is slow down, and red is summarized. >> good afternoon. barretteard, i am dr. duke, vice president for public policy and research for the southern baptist ethics and religious liberty commission. i appreciate the opportunity to speak to the subcommittee this afternoon on the subject of children brought here by their parents contrary to our nation's immigration laws. the subcommittee is right to view thisup of undocumented immigrants differently from those that came here as adults. these are people that came here and did not make a conscious decision. they were brought here as miners. it is the only life they know. it is likely to identify more with this country and its culture and the country and culture from where their parents brought them. this is their home, in other words. our country should not hold these children accountable for the choices their parents made. would anyone in this room want to or expect to be held accountable for decisions their parents made? i didn't not. such distinctions are important to us as -- abhorrent to us as americans. in this land, every person is to be judged by his or her own cancer and accomplishments, not those of his or her parents. own career and the complements, not those of his or her parents. the hebrew skechers, held by me and billions of others as god's will, the prophet declared a father will not suffer punishment for her son's iniquity son will not suffer for a father's iniquity. if god were not hold children accountable for the sins of their parents, we should not as well. i rely heavily on the teachings of the bible, develop thoughts about all aspects of life, my own and my nations. i support the biblical teaching of the divine origin and role of government as laid out in such passages such as romans. the passage does not give government of failing to act in any way it chooses -- it says that god's design for government is to punish bad behavior and reward good behavior. we would argue this is a fundamental purpose of government. while every person brought to this country illegally as a minor should not qualify for special consideration by the subcommittee, many certainly should. those that are of good, moral territory can demonstrate a desire to make your own way through life should be given a chance to come out of the shadows and come in the -- joining the full life and vitality of our nation and we should, in other words, reward their good behavior. thatis a group of people embody many of the characteristics we embody and americans, the spirit our nation celebrates. we should celebrate that spirit in these young men and women as well and provide a way forward for them. as you consider legislation to ofist these children undocumented immigrants to fully prepare for lies in our nation, here are some things i want you to consider. first, it is difficult to imagine how you can fully address their needs without fully addressing the needs of the other undocumented immigrants and our nation, including their parents. it is my hope and prayer that congress will see this as one piece of a bigger plan that needs the principles of sound immigration reform. we can honor the rule of law, secure our borders, and chart a just and compassionate way forward for the millions of others living peacefully and productively in our midst. are in some parameters order as you chart a way forward for these young people. i suggest this in my full testimony. prior service to the country, like you just heard the german speak of in the military, completion of -- gentlemen speak of, possession of a ged. i think the committee for your willingness to tackle this important matter. we are dealing with lives here, not only laws. letjustice be blind, but her be discerning. their character and drive reveal that these young men and women under consideration represent some of the best of what we are looking for in future citizenry. welcome them, encourage them and empower them to stand tall. as we honor them and their commitment, we say to a watching world, and likely to a watching citizenry at this really is a land of opportunity and promise. next click my comments. i look forward to attempting to and -- that concludes my comments. i look forward to attending to answer any questions you might have. you.ank ms. maggie mccue. >> good afternoon. thank you for the invitation to appear. i've been asked to testify about the broad demographics about the population of young, undocumented immigrants that have been brought here as children and have since established deep roots in this country. since a more generic analysis of the population does not exist i will rely on my testimony on a detailed analysis i co-authored in 2010 of the dream act population that look at the and aspects whoconomic entered and were present in the u.s. for five years. 2.5 milliony children in use were potentially immediately eligible for conditional legal status or could become eligible. our study divided the age and date of arrival eligible populations into four subgroups based on their age and level of education and we estimated each groups likelihood of meeting the requirements of legal residence, which included completion of a college degree, or at least two years of post secondary or military service. the groups broke out as follows, largest was school age children that would become eligible in the future or completed secondary education or military service requirements. 43% were in this category, or 934 thousand children under the age of 19. the next largest group, 28%, were those that earned a high school diploma or ged, but would need to pursue college or military service to earn a green card. nearly 500 23%, or -- 500,000 were those over 18 and that lacked a high school diploma. they could become eligible if they completed a high school diploma or ged, and subsequently post secondary education or military service had finally, we estimated that about five percent had already obtained at least an associates degree, and that -- 500,000 were those over 18 and that lacked a high school diploma. they could become eligible if they completed would make them y eligible for a green card. you will see in my rent testimony that we looked further at key -- written testimony that we looked further at key social economic analysis and the challenges they would face. this included afforded -- affording college tuition and fees, needing to work to support themselves or their families, juggling parenting response abilities were closing gaps in english proficiency. overall, we estimated that only 38% of the 2.1 million that were potentially eligible based on their age, date of arrival and duration of residency would be legislation the proposed at that time. since the cost of higher education and access to financial aid are critical factors, based on historical trends, we found that the affording of college would likely be the most significant factor that would prevent young immigrants from completing a requirement. our profile is consistent with research indicating that young immigrants are more likely to be nontraditional college students, meaning they likely enroll at older ages, attend college part- time, work while going to school, and juggle family responsibilities along with their coursework. all of these factors have been associated with lower rates of college completion, therefore academic support stands a critical role if their pathway requires successfully making one's way through post secondary or military service. i would like to point out before closing and more recently the congressional budget office estimated that approximately 1.5 million unauthorized immigrants .ould meet the age cbo estimated that approximately would be able to achieve permanent residents will be naturalized by 2023. in conclusion, while the estimates are based on different parameters, it does seem clear that approximately 1.5 million and age residency requirements contemplated in recent proposals, but far fewer would again residence and citizenship under these proposals. approximately 85,000 individuals in our analysis, and 360 thousand in the cbo assessment. in light of the reality that the pathway is a narrow one, it provides important considerations for policymakers to allow them to achieve legal status and become fully contributing members of our society. thank you for the opportunity to testify and i would be pleased to answer questions. >> thank you. ms. pamela rivera. >> i want to take this opportunity to thank chairman go wdy and the subcommittee for letting me share my very personal story. my parents moved to the united in the 1980s, and i was born in 1987 to -- in california. shortly after my birth, they move back to columbia with money they saved working in the u.s. and tried to pursue a life there. they had my sister evelyn while we were living in colombia and in 1991, when i was four years old, and my sister was three years old, they moved back to provide a better life for us, wanting us to live without the drugs and daily car bombings that defined life in colombia and for us to have a chance at obtaining a world-class organization. for many years, i did not know status, but as the years passed i began to understand in my family was not like most. we would never be treated the same. my father worked nights, and my mother worked mornings to make sure that my two sisters and i were never left alone. they understood the meaning of family and how important it was to raise their daughters in a stable home. my mom learned english quickly by volunteering at her school and working with us on homework. i remember my mom asking teachers to send home extra homer, even on the bash friday so that my sister and i would catch up to the other students. my youngest sister was born in florida in 1993. we all grew up in the same home, attended the same schools, spoken was, played lacrosse. there was one major difference that would come to dominate our lives. sarah and i were natural born u.s. citizens, while my sister was braun -- brought here on a now expired visa. it was not until high school that i found out for sure about my family's immigration status. there were so many things that would come up or that i had to work twice as hard to figure out because of the situation. for example, i was not able to get a drivers license when i turned 16 and i cannot tell you how hard it is as a teenager to not be able to drive. as hard as this was for my youngest sister and for me, there was always a light at the end of the tunnel. we were u.s. citizens. evelyn did not have that. she had to go through high school graduation knowing there in sight, no path to college, no path to a normal job. she had to walk across the stage and into the shadows. in a somewhat normal life that she had gone to live, he only home she had ever known was over. she also had to walk across the stage without our mom watching. our mom, couple of months before had been pulled over at a , andic stop, arrested forced to leave the country. this all occurred as a sophomore in college and i cannot put into words the level of devastation. it affected my personal training and academic success. my sisters and i worked hard in school. praise future scholarships, but unlike my younger sister and i, evelyn was unable to claim her scholarshipbecause of her undocumented status. as a citizen of the united states, i have been able to pursue the american dream -- i am a graduate of the florida state university, and am currently pursuing a master's degreeat the university of florida. living in a mixed status family i have learned to cherish every moment i have with my family especially since we have lost our mother. we have to protect our families. it has now been over 6 years since eve has seen our mom. it has been 6 years since her life as she knew it came to a halt. this is the only home she knows, she has been here for 21 years, yet she is punished every day and forced to live in limbo?for -- live a life you limbo for no reason at all. i have had to watch her be denied opportunities afforded to us in the only country she has ever known in what amounts to be an accident of birth. >> thank you. ms. velasquez. >> i would like to thank chairman gowdy, and the distortion of this committee for the opportunity to testify. velazquez. rosa i am 30 years old. ever since i was five years old, arkansas has been my home. i am honored to be a member of the united we dream national coordinating committee. united we dream is the largest emigrant youth-let network in the country made up of 55 affiliates in 21 states. we are committed to winning citizenship for our families and communities. an immigration system that treats all americans with dignity, parents like my mother, who is 22 years old when we came to the u.s.. sadly, like so many other parents, her story has been forgotten. she made the courageous decision to travel alone with my four- year-old brother rudy and myself. i was five years old. my mother packed everything in a backpack, and in august we got in a plane in mexico city and arrived in dallas texas -- dallas, texas. my father would join the site year later. throughout my schooling i was involved in every club, organization and to the group i could be part of. i had always had the desire to be involved but in music i found my true passion. were at theormances university why i would later be offered a scholarship. my parents taught me that family values were greater than anything, and where one went, the rest followed. i remember the day i enrolled. my parents went with me. they went with me when i chose my dorm andchose went to the financial aid office . it was at this office that i found out i was no eligible for a scholarship. i was undocumented and i saw my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slipped my fingers because i lacked legal status. to be fully eligible, i had to be a u.s. citizen. it was then that my mother took my hand with tears in her eyes and told me i could do anything i set my mind to. if i wanted to go to college, i was going to go to college and my mother's hard-working hands are the reason i am here today, and the reason i am currently a graduate student. i am pursuing two masters degrees. one in esl english and one in american literature. she is also the reason my brother is going to the university of arkansas. two years he will achieve a bachelors degree in culinary arts. she is also the reason that my 12-year-old brother, randy, a u.s. citizen, has high hopes and aspirations to attend college in the future. arkansas is the poultry capital of the world. we have several poultry processing plants, and this is where my mother first began her work. her job for the next 10 years was to cut chicken tenders with scissors and arrange them in the yellow trays you are able to purchase today at any grocery store. as i sit here telling you about my achievements and successes. my mother, who has sacrificed everything for me is now suffering with carpal tunnel syndrome. when members of congress tell me that i deserve the opportunity to earn citizenship and my mother does not, i tell them that if anyone deserves that opportunity it is my mother. my mother did what any mother facing uncertainty would have done, provide a better life for her children. this is a land of opportunity. hard workearn with and perseverance we have the opportunity to succeed. if congress were to adopt an incomplete solution that would provide a path to earned citizenship for dreamers like me, but something less for our parents, it would be like saying that i can now be one of you, but my parents can never be. that our hardworking parents are good enough to pick your crops, babysit your children, landscape your yard, and at the same time -- but they will never be treated as equal members of this society. this solution that includes only dreamers and people like me will only lead to further separation of families and will in no way provide the answer you seek -- fixing our broken immigration system and recognizing the full humanity of those who have been drawn here by the prospects of my mother's hard-working hands are the foundation of which this country were built. i am my mother's daughter. she and i are legal equal -- equal. i am undocumented. my name is rosa angela velazquez figueroa, daughter of rosalinda and rodolfo velazquez and sister to rudy and randy velazquez. i am one of the 11 million and together, we are the american dream.[applause] >> thank you, ms. velasquez. i'm only going to say this once -- no response from the audience. we will have order in this. it is fine to express yourself internally. no visible response. with that, i would recognize the gentleman, the chairman of the full committee, chairman good luck -- chairman goodlatte. >> thank you. i would like to start with you, ms. rivera. i appreciate your testimony and that of ms. velasquez. she said she did not think there should be any difference between all of the 11 11 million people -- between herself and her mother, for example, but you know your parents, probably the parents of other people that have children who are not lawfully present in the united youes, and my question for is when your parents and do you think other parents would be supportive of legislation that would allow your sister and other young people brought here at a young age to give legal status and ultimately u.s. citizenship, but did not address their situation -- in other words the parents situation in the same way? is an know, that incredible -- incredibly difficult question to answer. parents, like i am sure any other parents, want what is the absolute best for their children. so, you know, it is easy to say that yes, they would be happy with that, but at the same time, i can tell you that the pain of not having my mother with us is something that i really cannot put into words, and it is not something that i feel comfortable saying i am ok with. >> your mother is not here in the united you is when your parents states. >> yes, sir. >> but if she were here in the united states and got a different status, a legal status, as opposed to a citizenship status, how would she feel about that? says -- >> ine know everyone says their mom is the best, and my mom is the best, from the moment they came here, as i said in my testimony, she was at the teachers classroom every day, helping out, making sure we were as involved in our community as possible. at the time, it was extremely annoying, and i can only say that when it comes to my family, knowing my mom, she wants to be part of this country. of herself asks an american, even though she is in columbia. so, i feel as though my mom would like a shot at being a she wants the opportunity and the responsibility that comes with that. you know, again, we had, up until that happened, lived here with my parents for close to 20 years. my father is now a legal resident. he lives here. this has become their lives. it is the only home we have ever known. it is difficult for me to say we would be ok with that, and frankly, i would not be ok with that. i know the sacrifices my parents made and the long hours my dad worked. i know how hard it was for them to >> i wouldn't want to have to make that decision. >> i understand you wouldn't want them to make that decision. the congress has to make that decision. that's the hard part. >> let me ask dr. duke if you would comment on the problem that we have here of determining how we proceed to assure that we don't have future children brought here through the desert in the backs of trailers under tunnels and so on into the united states legally. so nort for congress to grant gal status to another 11 million illegal immigrants 20 years from now, what do they support being put into place? >> it is a concern to southern baptists as well we resolve this at this time and not have to come back here as well. i think most southern baptist are saying secure the border and workplace verification. they believe those two components would have a lot to do with addressing future illegal immigration. if folks can't get work here, it's going to pretty much discourage them from coming. so we do believe those are a couple of components that the committee should consider as well. >> in your testimony you mentioned a commitment to a pursuit of a higher education or military service should be sufficient to show these people have good moral character and commitment to their futures and thus should be afforded a path to legal status. what should happen to young illegal immigrants that do not show such a commitment and are not of good moral character? >> that is a tough question in my opinion. the legislation under consideration here to me requires a certain level of moral character as well as commitment to the future and so i think that is going to be necessary for this special track for these particular young people. i think the rest are going to have to be considered along with all of the other 10 million or so undocumented immigrants in our country that the committee is going to have to figure out how to address. there are going to be some adults who won't be able to qualify for whatever this committee and congress chooses to do as well. and unfortunately some of those children as well are going to be caught in a situation where they've made wrong choices and made it nearly impossible for themselveses to find a way for this country to be able to grant them the kind of legal status we'd like to give them. >> thank you. >> the chair will recognize the gentle laid i did -- lady from california. >> thank you mr. chairman and thanks to all of our witnesses for excellent testimony that informs us and informs people who are watching this hearing across the country on c-span and other members of congress who are watching it in their office, it is very important that you are here. listening to our two young powerful testimony that you've given. and as i was listening to the chairman's question, i was thinking about the relationship between parents and sons and daughters. i have a son and a daughter about your age. i would do anything for them. and i think you're saying the same about your parents. but here is the problem. when you have -- when you are pitting sons and daughters against moms and dads, you've created really a system that is not healthy. and if i'm hearing you right, it's not that your mother wouldn't do anything for your mother, it's that you would not permit your mother to be thrown to the side of the road for your benefit. is that kind of a food summary of your position? thank you. dr. duke, we worked together in the past and i appreciate very much your testimony and it's interesting there are many issues that you and i don't agree on. what we've learned is we can work on the things that we do agree on and one of those things has been immigration. lishes -- and the re religious table called for immigration reform and said it should provide clear steps to citizenship for those who want it and qualify. and dr. moore sent a letter to congress saying and i quote a tough yet achieveable earned pathway to citizenship is a necessary part of broader reform. is that still your position and the position of the ethics and religious committee of the southern baptist convention? >> thanks for the question. yes, it is still our position, it is my position that we should not be creating second class citizens in this country. we just don't do that here. everyone should have a full opportunity to rise to the opportunity this country affords them and citizenship is a part of that. we do believe that we do need to create an opportunity for citizenship for those who did qualify by whatever standards this committee and congress choose. but we believe that should be a component that is possible for these folks. >> thank you very much. i hope the faithful here in the house will listen to our words of advice. when the house last took up the dream act, some members took to the floor and called it the nightmare act. they said that allowing these young people to come out of the shadows and have an opportunity to earn legal permanent residence and possible in the future citizenship would prevent americans from getting jobs and realizing other opportunities. how would you answer that attack? > well, certainly we're in a situation in the country right now where we don't have enough jobs it would seem. but we also have a lot of jobs that are going unfilled. so clearly we need more workers in certain areas than we have right now. we know that business is looking for more workers currently. so clearly there are still a need for more workers in this country. the best thing that we can do is create as well qualified and educated work force as we possibly can. we have all of these young folks here now, over a million who can be brought fully into the work force and can meet a lot of the needs that we already have. as we continue to grow our economy we're going to need more workers. and eventually everybody who wants a full time job is going to be able to find one. so i think this country needs more workers, not less workers. >> i'll just close by saying whenever we have a hearing like this i'm so struck by the courage shown by undocumented individuals. i think of them as aspiring americans. and i remember my grandfather who came to this country when he was 16 years old with nothing. his process then was he got on a boat and sailed to america and he got off the boat. he never saw his parents again but he wanted to be an american just like you want to be an american. and he and generations of aspiring americans came and really built this country. and to think that our future will not be enriched by people who want it, who have enough hope and enough courage and enough ambition to want to be a free american to help build our country, that that future would not be enrich sd just a mistake. because through aspiring americans, people who want to come and throw in their lot with us and build a better country, our future will be strengthened and i don't think we need to ration that. we ought to embrace that just as immigrants built our past, they will help us build a great future for americans. so thank you all for your wonderful testimony today. >> the chair will recognize the gentleman from iowa, mr. king. >> thank you mr. chairman, i prishte being recognized. i was gathering my thoughts and trying to die jest what has taken place here today. the first question in your testimony i could hear the emotion in your voice. would you characterize the life you've had living here in the united states living in the shad dose. >> i'm sorry? >> would you characterize your life here as living in the shad dose. >> that wasn't an option for me. some of the kids wanting to go to college came up to me and i had to voice myself to them. >> so you wouldn't characterize your life as living in the shadows here? >> no, sir. testimony to your ezequiel 18: 20, i would call it the since of the father section. but i would understand that point the since of the son shall not be punished on to the father and vice verse sa. i look at that and read through the rest of your testimony and it appears to me negotiate would you pun sh the parent for pringing their children here. . you just wouldn't do so in this bill. did i read that correctly? >> no, i'm not saying we shouldn't hold the parents accountable for the choices they made. there do need to be appropriate forms of penalty. >> but you wouldn't apply current law to them. you would want to right a new law that would be less onerous than current law for the parents? >> yes, i'm asking you to create another set of penalties for the law other than the penalty that currently exists. >> would this be under the concept of mercy? >> mercy at the very least but also in my opinion simply a matter of practicality and humidity. >> can you -- humanity. >> can you cite any place in the bible where mercy is not ack anied by repentens? >> i know that god says i will have mercy on whom i will have mercy. so he gets the freedom choose -- >> he calls for repentens as christians. >> we get to choose the circumstances under which we have mercy. >> we couldn't teach christianity without repenitence being a component of it. >> i know matthew for i was a stranger and let me in. >> that was a central theme also which i'm surprised wasn't in this testimony but i suppose you would adhere to that proposal as well? >> yes, sir that's correct. >> and so are awe wear when we see that word stranger and when you look back through the greek of the a foundation modern day bible i know. xanos is the greek word, that means guest foreigner, an invited guest rather than someone who came in against the law? >> i understand there are various understandings of how that word is to be interpreted in that passage. >> so you wouldn't interpret that to mean you are commanded by god to welcome anyone that comes into your country or home regardless of whether they are invited or uninvited? >> yes, sir, that's correct, we're not required to invite anyone that comes along into our homes but we are required to express hospitality toward those -- > to the invited guest according to the greek interpretation of the word xanos, stranger invited guest. >> st. paul gave a sermon on mars hill in acts 17. he said and god made every nation on earth and he decided when and where each nation would be. and he granted that authority to the elected officials within the country to set the border and to control the border and that is the definition of sovreignty as i understand. would you have a different understanding of that sermon? >> no, sir, i think god does give human beings the freedom create their own borders and to establish their own laws. >> i appreciate all the witnesses. i yield back. >> the chair will recognize the gentleman from michigan. >> thank you mr. chairman and welcome to all of our witnesses. am very impressed by the overall direction that all of .he witnesses have made their understanding of how we deal with not only the dreamers, but with their parents as well. one thing that concerns me is that sometimes we manage to keep the dreamers in and there seems to be a growing tendency in that direction in the congress. but the separation of the children, the dreamers from their parents is something that still troubles me. and i'd like to just go down the witness list and see if you hare any of this unease with e and i always like to start with the vice president of the southern baptist convention. one of these days we're going to get a witness from the northern baptist convention here but it hasn't happened yet. >> there aren't as many of them. >> that's a good reason. >> thank you congressman. >> i do share concerns for the parents of these young men and women. they are in a different circumstance however because violated the law. we can see address the circumstance for these young people and address the parent needs without talking about a full immigration solution. >> comprehensive? >> yes, sir a complete solution that would address their parents and the parents of children who were born here as well who also need their circumstances to be addressed. > and might i ask you for your feelings on this part of the discussion? >> our organization is focused on analysis of policy options facing the congress and so it's not the sort of way that we would approach the issue. >> that means that you wouldn't ink of it as a comprehensive or that we could create a path for citizenship even for the parents although they have without doubt violated some of our immigration rules. but we always start off here by saying on both sides of the aisle the immigration system is broken. so it's not a matter of worrying too much about these rules, it's can we construct some others? if you have an idea on that? >> perhaps i was listening to your question with too formal an ear. i thought you said did i have a feeling of concern about that. i would say for my organization overall that a great deal of our policy analysis over the years has focused on the need for more comprehensive approaches to reform if we are to fix the system. but i would say there is a distinction between that and the question you had asked. > thank you. >> what say you? >> obviously i am supportive of comprehensive immigration reform, anything that helps families stay together. i think that that is the e pitmy of at least what my family, what i was raised on. i think it's for the well being of children. and i just think it's for the well being of america because the family unit is probably the most important unit we have in society. >> so what about the parents? do you think that we keep the dreamers and work out a way for hem a path for citizenship but what bothers me is what do we do with the parents? do we kick them out? do we separate them from their children who were born here in the country? >> no, i don't think that that's a real option. i think that that can cause lasting damage. i can tell you i recently got married. i got married last month. and i had to go through the decision of trying to figure out how to do a wedding because i have my sister who cannot leave the country and my mother who cannot come into the country. so i've been engaged for two years hoping some type of solution would occur. and at the very least my sister would be able to travel to columbia. so finally we had to give in and we had to get married. nd it was wonderful but my mom was there via facetime. i get a response even though my time is expired? >> certainly. >> thank you. at home i was taught that what this country was founded on family values, christian values, and justice. i hope this is addressing a real solution for me and for my parents as well. >> thank you very much. >> the chair will now recognize the gentleman from ohio. >> thank you. let me thank all of you. it's very compelling emotional testimony. let me go to you obviously support a path to citizenship for dreamers and you would support a path to citizenship for parents as well? >> yes, sir. >> yes, sir. >> how about you? > i'm sorry. >> a path to citizenship for dreamers is what we're talking about today. would you support a path to citizenship for parents? >> we don't take a position -- >> i'm asking you as a witness what do you think. can you speak on behalf of you? >> what about dr. duke? >> yes, i believe there should be a way for citizenship for these others as well. >> what about the rest of the estimated 11 million illegals here do you support a path for those as well? >> yes, sir. >> yes, sir. >> yes, sir. >> you guys do? >> the baptist is taking a position on that? >> restate your question so i can answer it then. we all know you are for the dreamers and for the parents. for the rest of the estimated 11 million a path to citizenship, just want to know whether southern baptist are. >> yes, sir we did call for legal status for the undocumented immigrants here in our presence in this country and in further reflection since then most southern baptist are also asking for a way forward for citizenship for these 11 million as well and that certainly would be my position. >> it's your position and the position of the southern baptist? >> they have not stated officially that is its position. >> do you support the comprehensive bill passed by the united states senate? >> i support a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants. >> have you looked at the bill? >> yes, sir. >> are you for it or against it? >> a path to citizenship so i support a path to sid zip? >> are you for the bill? >> yes, i am. >> have you taken a position on the bill? >> no. >> has the baptist convention taken a position. >> no. has ptist organization not taken a position on the bill. we believe it's a good step forward but it needs some work and we're looking to the house to help address some issues. last question for you dr. duke. the southern baptist convention you said you believe they are there on pathway to citizenship for the 11 million even though you haven't taken a formal position. is there anything in what you perceive as the position of the southern baptist that says border security must happen before there is a pathway to citizenship for those, for the estimated 11 million folks in the country illegally? >> i would say most southern baptist and myself believe we need to make sure the border is secure before citizenship is possible. but we believe we also need to address the circumstances of these 11 million and that it needs to be done as a package in order to make sure all of the needs of our nation and of these undocumented immigrants are addressed. >> i said last question but i changed my mind. -- o you have any concern he talked about in his opening statement that if in fact we pass a dream act for young people, that we're going to have to make sure we do it for parents. are you concerned at all about where it goes tapped logical steps that have been pointed out that it travels that way before we have a chance to secure the border and maintain the border as a sovereign nation. does that certain you at all? >> it does concern me that we may not get to the place where we secure the border and i'm looking to you to make sure that there is a mechanism in place to ensure the border is secured before permanent legal status is applied. but that doesn't mean that you can't do something in the meantime so that these folks here can at least know that they no longer have to live under the fear of deportation while our country is resolving this problem. >> thank you. >> the chair will now recognize the gentleman from illinois. >> thank you very much mr. chairman. and thank you to all of the witnesses. it is very compelling and very moving testimony. i am delighted that you're here and i'm delighted that we're having a hearing that really brought in the perspective of this committee. and i'd like to take the pportunity to say that you love your mom? >> yes, sir, i love my mother. >> after you described her, i love her too. >> thank you. you have two that siblings right? >> yes, sir. >> one out of status, the other an american citizen like you. how important is it as an american citizen that you get your mom back, how important is it? > it would mean a lot. it's hard because there are so many things you want to call your mom and tell her about. there are so many instances that people don't have to think about and don't evenle realize that you take for granted. i've had to experience that. i know how difficult it is. i can't imagine how difficult it must be for my mother. always living in fear not knowing if something happens to her kids that she cannot be there for them. i understand this issue is incredibly complicated and very happy not to have to do this myself. but i believe that congress has i ability to do it and would love to have my mother back. >> thank you. i think you know as we look at it and i look at it, i try to look at it through i have two daughters and i can't imagine what their life would be like without their mother. there are certain things that dads don't do. there are certain parts of life that dads don't fill in. i'm the consyare, need a ticket call dad. need to learn to drive a car, call dad. need somebody to take you to the university to check it out, call dad. i do those kind of things. flat tire, call dad. then there is all the other stuff that moms do, that parpts do. i'm not trying to i did minute sh what men do and the relationship but moms are pretty important in people's lives. i don't think about them as much i think about ourselves and i think about what our relationship is to our children and how important i know every member of this panel is and has been and will continue to be to their children. look at it in terms of your own children and what would their life be like without us. i don't think it would be the same. i just ant to say that -- want to say that this isn't about the senate bill. we can draft one here in the house of representatives. we have the skill and knowledge and fortitude to get us through those debates and discussions. and so it not about amnesty. i look at the senate bill and i say we really want it. 20, 25 ying 10, 15, years. every scent that an undocument t person like your mother has spent and sent to thes is trust fund gone, confiscated in the senate bill, 10, 25 years. i came to congress to have comprehensive healthcare for everybody. gone. 10 years you want to