Speech #1130115812

At the end of the day. the Senator from Texas argues that this measure is necessary to deal with the humanitarian crisis at the border. I will say that has gone dramatically in a downward slope. He may argue that immigration policy is driving these children to make a dangerous and deadly journey. While I agree we need a longterm solution to the humanitarian crisis on the southern border. saying that this opportunity for DREAMers to stay in the United States is the cause is simply not true. DACA. which is the law we refer to that the President did by administrative order. was announced in June of 2012. The influx of unaccompanied minors was reported months before that announcement. As a matter of fact. we can ask Senator CRUzs own Governor. Rick Perry. who sent a letter warning about the influx of children months before the Presidents DACA announcement. The fact is that all of this talk about ending deferred action for children who have been here sometimes well over a decade or more ignores the elephant in the room. that is. that DACA does not cover these children. It only covers children who were brought here before the announcement was made. Eliminating DACA. as the Senator from Texas wishes to do. would not make any of these children less likely to come here. These children are fleeing extreme violence in Guatemala. El Salvador. and Honduras. which have some of the highest murder rates per capita in the world. If I saw my father killed and my sister raped. it is likely I would think about trying to flee that set of circumstances regardless of what the promise might or might not be. and that is in fact what drove this humanitarian crisis. We should solve the roots of the crisis and not try to create some connection to something that has absolutely nothing to do with it. I know we are in the season in whicheven if 10 angels came swearing from above that DACA is not the cause of the unaccompanied minor circumstances or that it is not amnesty. there will be those who will say. no. those angels are wrong. The reality is that one is entitled to their own views but not their facts. Finally. the undeniable consequence of the Senators attempt to dismantle these deferred actions for DREAMers would serve only to further separate families.