DURBIN. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak about
the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, known as DACA. That
was an Executive order of President Obama's which provided temporary
legal status to immigrant students and young people if they registered
with the government, paid a fee, and passed a criminal and national
security background check. It was for 2 years and renewable. Young people who are protected by DACA are known by some as Dreamers. They came to the United States as children. They grew up singing the
``Star Spangled Banner'' and pledging allegiance to our flag. They
believed that they were Americans, but legally, they are not. The
average DACA recipient came to the United States at the age of 6 and
has been here for approximately 20 years. It was 7 years ago that I sent a letter to President Obama. I was
joined in that letter, incidentally, by Senator Dick Lugar, a
Republican from Indiana.
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