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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E307]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DREAM AND PROMISE ACT
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HON. LORI TRAHAN
of massachusetts
in the house of representatives
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge this Congress to
provide permanent relief to the Dreamers, Deferred Enforcement
Departure, and Temporary Protected Status holders whose lives have been
turned upside down by the Administration. We must pass H.R. 6, the
Dream and Promise Act, without delay.
Fourteen months ago, the Department of Homeland Security announced
that it was ending TPS for nearly 200,000 Salvadorans in the United
States. The Department's decision about Salvadorans' TPS was just the
latest in a string of such announcements since the fall of 2017--which
also threaten Sudanese, Haitian, and Nicaraguan immigrants. Families
have been living in a state of fear and uncertainty for a year and a
half, and for no good reason.
Madam Speaker, I'd like to explain why this is not only cruel
policy, but also unnecessary and short-sighted. Recently, I had the
pleasure of speaking with Irma Flores. Irma is a community engagement
specialist for the city of Somerville, Massachusetts, where she assists
the Spanish-speaking community. She lives in Haverhill, in my District,
with her daughter, who goes to school at UMass Boston. Her son
graduated from Suffolk University with degrees in International
Relations and Political Science. Irma, herself, studied International
Relations in her native country at the University of El Salvador.
However, she and her kids fled to the United States 18 years ago
because of a devastating earthquake.
For nearly two decades, the United States has been Irma's home and
her children's home. The people of Somerville depend upon her; and she
is a beloved part of the Haverhill community.
It is estimated that there are more than 12,000 people living in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts with Temporary Protected Status--half of
whom are from El Salvador. However, people like Irma have had their
lives upended by the callousness of the Administration's policy.
If Irma's story isn't persuasive enough for Congress to act,
consider the fact that the law, despite the Administration's claim,
does not require her return. That's because we have the power to permit
extensions if these residents are unable to return in safety.
The United States does not--and should not--return people to
disaster areas or warzones. In January, our State Department renewed
its travel advisory to El Salvador. The warning reads: ``Violent crime,
such as murder, assault, rape, and armed robbery, is common. Gang
activity, such as extortion, violent street crime, and narcotics and
arms trafficking, is widespread.'' These are not conditions under which
families should be forced to return.
But if the legal argument is not persuasive either, consider the
fact that TPS holders contribute nearly $650 million to the
Commonwealth's economy. One analysis found that if Salvadoran,
Honduran, and Haitian workers with TPS were removed from the labor
force, the United States would lose $164 billion in gross domestic
product over the next decade.
Again, Madam Speaker, this is cruel, unnecessary and shortsighted
policy. This Congress should approve the Dream and Promise Act, which
provides a permanent fix for Dreamers, DACA, and TPS recipients without
delay, so that people like Irma and her family can remain safely here
as members of our communities.
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