May 20, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 95 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Pages S2538-S2539]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE HEROES

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, Americans owe a great deal of gratitude to 
healthcare workers on the frontlines of the fight against the COVID-19 
pandemic. I can't tell you how many heartbreaking stories I have read 
of these healthcare workers who are so depressed over the number of 
infections, the suffering that people are going through, and, of 
course, those whose lives have been taken by this coronavirus. I can't 
imagine what it is like physically and mentally, what they go through. 
Bless them. Bless them for caring enough for us and for our families to 
risk their own lives and go to work every single day.
  I want to spend a minute talking about a special group of these 
healthcare workers--immigrants. That is right--immigrants. Consider 
this: 1 in 6 healthcare and social service workers is an immigrant; 3.1 
million out of 18.7 million. Over 3 million immigrants.
  These immigrants are playing a crucial role in the battle against the 
pandemic. Yet, the President continues to disparage them falsely, 
claiming they are a drain on society. He wishes they would leave. I 
hope they never do.
  I have come to the floor to tell the story of one. I will continue to 
highlight these stories because we need to put faces on this issue. You 
need to understand who these people are, these people who are 
immigrants to this country and willing to risk their lives to save 
ours. I invite my colleagues to do the same. Tell the stories in your 
own States. I can guarantee you, wherever you are from, there are 
immigrant health heroes.
  Not to take anything away from those who are not new immigrants, but 
these people need special attention at a time when there is so much 
criticism of immigration to this country of immigrants. Many of these 
healthcare workers are young immigrants who came here as children. They 
are known as Dreamers. I know because 20 years ago, I introduced the 
DREAM Act so that these young people, brought to this country as 
toddlers, infants, and little kids, could have a chance to be part of a 
future. They are American in every way except their immigration status.
  I joined with Republican Dick Lugar years ago on a bipartisan basis, 
calling on the President to use his authority to protect these Dreamers 
from being deported. President Obama responded. He created the DACA 
Program. DACA provided temporary protection from deportation to 
Dreamers if they registered with the government, paid a $500 filing 
fee, went through a criminal background check, and had no serious 
problems. They were allowed to stay 2 years at a time, not be deported, 
and legally work in America.
  More than 800,000 Dreamers came forward and received DACA protection, 
and let me tell you what they did. They turned around and became 
teachers, nurses, soldiers, small business owners, and 100 other things 
important to America.
  Listen to this: More than 200,000 DACA recipients are essential 
critical infrastructure workers. I didn't make that up; that number 
came out of President Trump's own Department of Homeland Security. 
Among these essential workers are 41,700 DACA recipients in the 
healthcare industry. These include doctors, intensive care nurses, 
paramedics, and respiratory therapists. Understand this: These are 
undocumented people in America, brought here as children, grew up here, 
went to school here, got an education, developed skills and training, 
and now we need them in this pandemic--41,700 of them.
  On September 5, 2017, President Trump repealed DACA. Hundreds of 
thousands of Dreamers faced losing their work permits and being 
deported from this country to places that many of them barely remember. 
Thank goodness the court stepped in to stop the President's action, but 
the President decided to appeal the case, and now, across the street in 
the Supreme Court, they are sitting on a case that will decide the fate 
of 800,000 of these DACA

[[Page S2539]]

protectees, many of them--thousands of them healthcare workers who are 
doing essential work every day. We can get a decision from the Court 
any day.
  Will we be better off if 41,000 of these DACA healthcare 
professionals are deported from this country in the midst of this 
pandemic? No sensible person believes we would be. If the Court rules 
in favor of President Trump, up to 200,000 essential workers in America 
would be sidelined in the middle of this national emergency. Many of 
them face deportation.
  I sent a letter to the President, with 37 of my Senate colleagues 
last month, urging him to extend the work authorization for DACA 
recipients to the end of the year. It is not too much to ask. They have 
lived in this country for years, and they passed a criminal background 
check.
  For goodness' sake, Mr. President, don't get tough on these people 
when we need them the most.
  But if you consider what the President said about immigrants over and 
over again, I know it is unlikely that he is going to have a moment of 
caring when it comes to their future, so Congress has to step in.
  The HEROES Act, which the House of Representatives passed last week 
and which we did not even consider this week in the U.S. Senate, 
includes a provision to automatically extend work authorizations for 
DACA recipients. This is what they are talking about when critics of 
that House action come to the floor and talk about all the benefits for 
undocumented people living in this country--the extension of DACA 
protection for thousands of essential workers in this country who are 
protected by DACA.
  They say: Oh, it sounds like they are opening the doors for illegal 
people to come in here and get royal treatment in America.
  The opposite is true. These are people who are risking their lives 
providing healthcare and essential services across America. The HEROES 
Act that passed in the House of Representatives simply said we are not 
going to deport them. What a radical suggestion, that we could use 
their help and we need their help through the rest of the year. We 
certainly do. Those who come and mock this provision by saying it is 
just a giveaway to illegal immigrants are really doing a disservice to 
these people and the sacrifice they are making.
  Ultimately, we need to give these Dreamers a chance to become 
citizens. I believe it now, and I have believed it for 20 years. It has 
been that long since I introduced the DREAM Act, a bipartisan bill, 
which would accomplish that.
  Last year, the Congress passed the Dream and Promise Act, which would 
have solved this problem based on the DREAM Act. The vote was 237 to 
187 in the House. Leader McConnell has refused to even consider calling 
that measure for consideration in the Senate. And it isn't because we 
are overworked; just take a look at this empty Chamber.
  Over the years, I have come to the floor of the Senate more than 100 
times to tell the stories of Dreamers. I want you to know who they are. 
These stories show what is at stake when we consider the future of 
DACA.
  Today, I want to tell you about Javier Quiroz Castro. Here is Javier 
dressed for work. He is the 121st Dreamer whose story I have told on 
the Senate floor.
  Javier's parents brought him to the United States when he was 3 years 
old. He grew up in Nashville, TN. His father worked in construction as 
a bricklayer. His mother cleaned homes and office buildings. As the 
oldest child and the best English speaker, Javier took care of his 
three younger siblings and helped his family navigate the challenges of 
being in America.
  Javier went to a private Christian college in Nashville, Lipscomb 
University. At Lipscomb, he discovered his love of nursing. He enrolled 
in the school of nursing and did his clinical training at Vanderbilt 
Medical Center. Javier graduated in May 2013 with his bachelor's in 
science of nursing. Javier received the Spirit of Nursing Award, which 
each year is given to only one nursing student who has best delivered 
quality care.
  Because President Obama established DACA in 2012, Javier had a 
chance. Before that, he had no chance to become a registered nurse in 
this country. But he had a chance, and he took advantage of it.
  Javier now lives in Houston, TX, and works at Houston Methodist 
Hospital. He is part of the team taking care of patients with COVID-19. 
This is what he wears to work.
  Javier wrote me a letter. Here is what he said:

       Thanks to DACA, I have been able to save a lot of lives. I 
     have been able to be there with patients at their final 
     moments of life. I have been able to take care of people of 
     many different backgrounds, nationalities, races, 
     socioeconomic levels, and cultures.

  This wouldn't be complete if I didn't introduce you to Javier's 
daughter. Take a look at this beautiful little girl. This is Isabelle 
Quiroz. A few weeks ago, she took her first steps. I bet you she is 
about the same age as my granddaughter, whose birthday is Friday of 
this week. She is about to take her first steps too. This beautiful 
little girl, Javier's little girl, her faith and future are at stake, 
too, in this debate in the U.S. Senate.
  I want to wish Isabelle a happy birthday tomorrow and my little 
granddaughter Jill a happy birthday on Friday.
  Javier's wife is also a nurse. She and Javier worry every day about 
not infecting their baby daughter as they go to work to save other 
people, but they still get up every day and go to work to care for 
their patients.
  I want to thank Javier Quiroz Castro for his service. He is indeed a 
healthcare hero. He is an immigrant healthcare hero. He puts himself 
and his family at risk in order to save American lives. He shouldn't 
have to worry about a decision across the street at the Supreme Court 
which would deport him back to a country he cannot even remember.
  We must do better. We are better than that as a country, to say to 
someone like Javier: Well, thank you for working so darn hard. Thank 
you for getting through nursing school with the highest grades. Thank 
you for your professionalism. Thank you for risking your life for 
America. But I am sorry, buddy, you are undocumented. Get out of the 
country.
  The bill that passed the House would protect him until the end of the 
year--until the end of the year. Yet Members come to the floor and mock 
this bill and say: Oh, you are trying to give things away to illegal 
immigrants. Illegal immigrants like Javier? Get real. Get serious. Be 
human.
  We have to do better for Javier and the DACA recipients. They are 
counting on us--those of us in the Senate--to solve this crisis created 
by President Trump's action.
  As long as I am a Senator, I will continue to come to the floor of 
the Senate to advocate for Javier and the Dreamers. I have done it for 
a long time, but the job is not finished. It would be an American 
tragedy to deport this brave and talented nurse who is saving lives in 
Houston, TX, as we speak. We must ensure that Javier and hundreds of 
thousands of others in our essential workforce are not forced to stop 
working when we need them the most.
  Ultimately, we need to pass legislation that demonstrates who we are, 
what we believe in, and what our values are. What does it say about 
America if we say to Javier ``We don't need you''? We do. We need him 
and so many just like him who are performing essential services at this 
time of national emergency.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio

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