Speech #CREC-2017-12-12-pt1-PgS7965-3_t8

My family has been here longer, but this issue is personal to me because of the people I met whom I will mention in my relatively short remarks. I want to tell some stories about people I have met. Immigrants in my State and across this country make vital contributions to our economy and local communities. They are business owners and entrepreneurs. They are educators and students. They are workers and leaders in the community. They serve our Nation in the military. For many immigrants brought here as children--and this is the key point--this is the only country they have ever known. They may speak Spanish at home or speak Arabic at home or they may speak Bengali at home or they may speak Urdu at home, but they don't know those countries they came from because they were small children when they came. President Trump promised to go after violent criminals, not innocent children. Unfortunately, his efforts have been aimed not at violent criminals who should, in fact, be removed from our country, but he has gone after so many innocent families and innocent children. My daughter Emily is a legal aid lawyer for immigration in Columbus. She has told me stories of families who have played by the rules, they worked hard, they are active in their church, they hold full-time jobs, and they are raising their kids. Their kids are doing well in school, and the mother and father get deported, not because they have ever committed a crime but because they came here a number of years ago to escape violence in the countries they came from. Those are not the same situations exactly as these DACA kids, but we know who these DACA children are--these Dreamers. We shouldn't be targeting young people who are contributing to this country--the country they grew up in, and the only home they have ever known. They are working, going to school, paying taxes, and serving in our military.