The DREAM Act

Floor Speech

Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I am honored to follow my distinguished colleague from Alabama, as well as a number of my other colleagues who I think have disproved, at least for this afternoon, one of the remarks made by the Senator from Illinois, which is that the cable viewers who subscribe to C-SPAN may not be getting their money's worth. I think the very spirited remarks made by my colleague from Alabama, even as I disagree with them, are a very well-stated point of view that deserves to be considered.

I am honored also to follow the majority leader and the Senator from Illinois and the Senator from Virginia in the remarks they made about the need to change the filibuster rules, and I wish to associate myself strongly with them. From the very first days I have been a Member of this body, I have strongly believed the filibuster needs to be ended or at least greatly modified so as to permit the business of this great Chamber to go forward. I believe the new Members who have come here have heard that message loud and clear from the American people and that they will vote--a majority of them--to change those rules. Because all of us know, having been home for a while, the American people believe strongly that we need to do better, we need to do more, we need to address the problems of this country through majority rule, not by 60-vote rule but majority rule, at least at the beginning of the process, as the majority leader has suggested, not by violating the rules but by following the rules to change and improve those rules. So I will vote to support the majority leader's proposals in that regard.

One of the measures that has been stymied, as the Senator from Illinois very eloquently said, is the DREAM Act. I have been a strong supporter and thank him for his leadership on the DREAM Act over many years. A number of times I have come to the floor to share stories, specific personal stories about those DREAMers whose lives would be changed and who would so greatly enhance the life of this Nation if the DREAM Act were passed. I am here again to share the story of another DREAMer from Connecticut and to urge my colleagues to act on this measure.

Of course, this measure should be part of comprehensive immigration reform. I have believed since I arrived 2 years ago that immigration reform ought to be a priority. I am gratified and grateful that the President seems now to be moving in that direction and that many in this body share that view. In fact, I asked to be assigned to the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration so I could be a part of this debate, and I hope I will join leaders in this effort, such as Senator Schumer and Senator Menendez, in proposals to repair a broken system. Clearly, our immigration system is in dire need of reform, comprehensive reform that will include the DREAM Act.

I have met and I have seen and experienced firsthand the stories of these DREAMers that make the case so compellingly for the DREAM Act to enable them to earn their citizenship and continue contributing to the greatest Nation in the history of the world, America.

As we return from Thanksgiving, having expressed our gratitude for our families, for our communities, for our country, what better time to address this measure for people who appreciate, maybe more than most of us, the importance and value of citizenship.

For more than a decade, Senator Durbin has championed this measure, and I am honored to work with him in this effort. As attorney general, I advocated it at the State level. But, obviously, only the Federal Government can change the laws relating to citizenship.

The DREAM Act would give young, undocumented immigrants, brought to this country as infants or young children, through no choice of their own, a chance to earn their citizenship through education or military service. The young people who would benefit from the DREAM Act identify as Americans. This Nation is the only one they have ever known. English is often the only language they know. Their friends here are the only friends they have. It would give them a clear path to immigration status, as well as citizenship.

The DREAM Act would give these young people a chance to earn citizenship but only if they meet several requirements. First, they must have come here as children. They have to demonstrate good moral character. They have to have graduated from high school. They must have completed 2 years of college or military service. Then, having met those requirements, they can apply for legal permanent residency and pursue a path to citizenship.

The DREAM Act would enable thousands of young people in Connecticut--about 2 million across the country--to leave the shadows, to leave the shadows of fear, of deportation from their homes and their communities, a fear that haunts them and forces them to put their careers and their education on hold, to the detriment of them and our Nation because they have so much to contribute and to give back to their communities and our country.

They are well educated and ambitious, and they could enhance and expand our society, our economy, our democracy if they are given the chance to fulfill their potential. All they want, all they ask is the opportunity to stay in this country and to earn citizenship in the place they call home, proudly.

Two million immigrants nationwide would benefit from this act. Mr. President, 11,000 to 20,000 DREAMers are living in Connecticut, and one of them is Solanlly Canas.

She was born in Colombia and she is here with us in this photograph. She was brought to America when she was 12 years old, living now in East Haven where she has attended school. She is in her senior year of high school where she has thrived as a member of the Honor Society, the Executive Board of the Student Council, and president of the Interact Club, the National Honor Society.

She has dreams and goals for the future. She is proud of being a great student contributing to the life of her school, and she hopes to study psychology some day. She wants to go to college. But her life is in danger of being on hold because of her undocumented status. On June 15 of this year, Solanlly encountered the great hope that maybe all of her hard work would be worth it, because on that date, the Obama administration announced a new policy that deferred action for childhood arrivals that gave her a temporary reprieve for relief from deportation. It extended for 2 years that relief. She would qualify, because those who have been in this country, continuously residing here for 5 years, brought here as children, not convicted of a felony or significant misdemeanor, currently in school or graduating from high school or honorably discharged as a veteran, all would be eligible to apply.

But eligibility is all they receive. All they would gain if granted this status is a temporary reprieve, forcing them again to risk, at the end of that reprieve, the potential for deportation and aggravating the possible fear by their having to declare their undocumented status. Her fate, far from being unusual, I have shown to be common to a number of individuals whom I have specifically mentioned on the floor.

Miller Gomes, for example--I am going to have his picture be shown here--brought to this country from Brazil at 5 years old. He attended Bridgeport public schools and Fairfield University where he graduated summa cum laude, and then the University of California-Berkeley where he is now enrolled in a Ph.D. program, a Ph.D. program in chemistry. What does this country need if not more scientists? We say so every day on this floor. Here is a scientist who could contribute greatly, now in fear of deportation simply because he was brought here at 5 years old and he is undocumented to this day.

Zuly Molina, who came here from Mexico, brought here at 6 years old. By the way, she had to walk across desert-like, barren country for 15 days. She was then put in the trunk of a car--6 years old. Living in New Britain. She was so fearful of her status that she declined to go to college in Connecticut. Instead she went to Massachusetts at Bay Path College where right now she is pursuing a master's in occupational therapy, a health care worker. At a time when we on this floor talk about the need for health care skilled training, we have here someone who could provide exactly that kind of contribution.

Finally, I have talked about Yusmerith Caguao, brought here from Venezuela when she was 11 years old. She went to Norwalk schools, and graduated from Norwalk Community College. She worked her way through Norwalk Community College as a waitress, as a babysitter, as an employee at a pet store. Now she is at Western Connecticut State University pursuing a combined degree in finance and accounting.

For these DREAMers, a path to citizenship, beginning with legal status, is essential to their peace of mind but also to their continuing to accomplish academically and professionally what is their great potential, to give to their country the promise and fulfillment of that potential that this country so dearly needs. We have the opportunity to provide them with a pathway to citizenship. Hopefully it would be part of comprehensive reform. But even as a stand-alone measure it merits approval. And as the Senator from Illinois said so well, it was blocked by the requirement for a 60-vote threshold. A majority voted in favor of it during this Congress. I ask my colleagues to give it the 60-vote threshold that it needs to pass for the sake of these DREAMers and for the sake of our country.

(The remarks of Mr. Blumenthal pertaining to the introduction of S. 3636 are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')

Mr. BLUMENTHAL. I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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