Speech #CREC-2017-12-12-pt1-PgS7965-3_t6

So the fact that they politely asked to speak with me, even as they literally are fighting for their lives, speaks volumes. We should open our hearts to them and support their cause. Like so many of my colleagues, I have met with Dreamers from my home State of Hawaii to hear about how DACA has changed and enriched their lives. In October, I met with three young women studying at the University of Hawaii thanks to DACA. Karen, Maleni, and Beatrice were, in many ways, like any other college student. They balance busy class schedules with part-time jobs and extracurricular activities. They have also lived in fear since the President and his Attorney General made the cruel and arbitrary decision to end DACA on September 5. Karen, Maleni, and Beatrice told me they hadn't received any notice about what would happen after the program ended on March 5, 2018, and depended on media updates that would literally determine their futures. They shared hopes and concerns most of us would take for granted. When their newly issued driver's licenses expire, they may not be able to fly home to California to visit their families because they will no longer have valid IDs. After turning their information over to the Federal Government, they worry for their parents and families, many of whom are undocumented. When their work authorizations expire, they will have to drop out of college because they can't afford tuition. Karen is pursuing her master's degree in conservation biology and environmental science and hopes to have a career in research. She said: If I lose my DACA, that means I'd lose my work permit which means I lose my graduate assistantship which means I can't [graduate]. So thinking about those logistics is definitely scary. Because I wouldn't be able to complete my education unless I found another way to fund it. [Dreamers] are working to improve our lives, and the lives of our families, and hopefully, through our professions, your life too. We're becoming doctors and lawyers and teachers and any field you can imagine there's probably at least one of us represented. So give us a chance. Even with all they have been through, Karen, Maleni, and Beatrice told me they don't regret signing up for DACA because, although their futures are now in jeopardy, for a few years they were given a chance at their American dream. Dreamers like Karen, Maleni, and Beatrice are not asking for much. They are just asking us, as Karen said, ``for a chance.'' They are asking us to keep the promise we made to them, and it is in our power to do that. Around 10,000 Dreamers have already lost their DACA status since Attorney General Sessions announced the program's end. Every day Congress doesn't act, 122 Dreamers lose their DACA status. We are taking away these young people's chances of staying in school, pursuing meaningful careers, and even visiting their families at Christmas. While the President once called Dreamers ``absolutely incredible kids'' and made promise after promise to protect them, he has gone back on his word time and again.