FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to speak about the need to
protect undocumented young people, commonly referred to as Dreamers,
from deportation. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, or what is called
DACA, was announced by President Obama in 2012 to solve an urgent need. Hundreds of thousands of young people brought to this country as
children were at risk of being deported. They didn't take the action to
come; their parents took the action to come and bring them. President
Obama's Executive order temporarily protected these undocumented young
people from deportation. DACA also provides the opportunity to obtain
work permits and has made it possible for many young DACA beneficiaries
to enroll in college. If Congress doesn't act now and pass a law, President Trump's
decision to terminate this program will have devastating consequences
for nearly 800,000 families across the United States, particularly
those in California. This decision to end DACA without first ensuring
that young people have legal protection is why we are demanding a vote
on the Dream Act as soon as possible. DACA recipients deserve certainty
now, not 6 months from now. These young people trusted our government,
and it is time we stopped playing with their lives. The Dream Act, introduced by Senators Graham and Durbin, has been
considered many times already by this Congress. It was most recently
included in the comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed the
Senate in 2013 with 68 votes. I remember it well. I remember weeks in
committee. I remember dozens of amendments. I remember the time on the
floor, the hope that we would be able to pass comprehensive immigration
reform. It had an agricultural workers program in it. It had this
program for undocumented children. It had H2A. It had a whole panoply
of reforms in it, and it went down. It got 68 votes here, although it
didn't survive in the House.
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