We made it here on the floor of the Senate. We passed it
on the floor of the Senate. There was an effort at comprehensive
immigration reform which included the DREAM Act. It was a glorious day
when it passed with a strong bipartisan vote and then a bitter
disappointment in the months that followed when it languished on the
floor of the House of Representatives and never was called for a
hearing or a vote on the floor. So many of these thousands of young
people who would be protected under the DREAM Act didn't know what the
future would hold. President Obama stepped in and created DACA through Executive order,
and with DACA protection, some 800,000 young people were given a chance
to be part of America--something they always dreamed of. They went to
college, got jobs, and they did important things in their lives that
they had put off and frankly reached the conclusion that they would
never be able to do. One of the things that many of them did, which surprised people, was
to pursue their goal of being part of the U.S. military. We have an
All-Volunteer military. These young people, undocumented in America,
who have no legal status in our Nation, were prepared literally to give
their lives for our country, the only country they have ever known. Is
there any question in your mind as to their devotion to this Nation? Not in mine.
Keywords matched
immigration undocumented DACA