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[Pages H4227-H4228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROTECT THE DREAMERS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about our Dreamers and
the need for Congress to work together now to protect them and provide
legal status.
Simply put, Dreamers are Americans, just like you and I, and they
should be treated as such. They came here, brought by their families at
a very early age: 2, 3, 4 years of age. For them, this is the only
country they have ever known.
They are our friends, our neighbors, and members of our churches,
synagogues, and mosques. They serve in the military and attend our
schools and universities.
In my district alone, the 16th Congressional District in California
in the San Joaquin Valley, there are over 1,200 Dreamers who are
attending California State University, Fresno; the University of
California, Merced; and thousands more who are attending our community
colleges.
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I have heard their stories, I have looked them in the eyes, and I
have consoled them. They have great fear. They fear things that we
would not probably think about, like driving to school and driving to
work. They are fearful that they might be pulled over because maybe
their vehicle has some sort of a violation, only to be pulled over and
find out that they are not here legally.
The jobs that they have--many of them full-time jobs, good jobs--are
threatened by potential audits to the employers who are seeking to
determine whether or not they are here illegally or not.
Yet, in spite of all of those challenges, they work tirelessly to
improve their education and to contribute to the betterment of their
families and their local communities. They pay taxes. They give back.
After all, isn't that the American way?
They are the next generation of leaders in various regions throughout
our communities, yet they are living in fear every day that they could
be deported. They fear for their families, and they fear for their
futures as they wait to see if they will be removed from the only home
they have ever known.
Can you imagine being in a household where some members of your
family are here legally, and some are not, and the notion that your
family might be split apart, mother and father, brothers and sisters?
How horrific that must be.
They have trusted our government to uphold its word that we would
give them protections under the DACA program. Now, of course, that is
all under a cloud.
We must keep our promises. Living with this uncertainty is just not
right. It is unfair, it is unjust, and it is not the American way.
My grandparents immigrated to this country, and they often faced many
of the same challenges that our Dreamers live with every day. Our
story, therefore--a nation of immigrants past and present--is their
story. Their story, like my family, is the American story. It is a
story of immigrants wanting to come here to have a better life for
themselves and for their children.
So, therefore, I am unwavering in my support that we provide them
legal status. We must let our Dreamers know that we stand with them and
that we
[[Page H4228]]
will not stop fighting for them. A majority of Americans want legal
protection for Dreamers. Congress must listen, and Congress must act.
Hopefully, we will do that today.
So, Mr. Speaker, I stand here and say to my colleagues: Vote ``yes''
to pass the American Dream and Promise Act. It is the moral and right
thing to do, and therefore we must do it now.
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