Speech #CREC-2018-01-17-pt1-PgH457-2_t13

I had the honor of having a role in that, having been in the Florida Senate at the time when we passed instate tuition along with a bill that I had that admitted DREAMers into The Florida Bar. This would spark her passion for social justice. Throughout her time at UF, she utilized her voice to speak for immigrant rights and human rights by taking several leadership positions within Chispas, the only student-led immigrant advocacy organization at UF. She has helped start programs that provide training for professional staff under student affairs about relevant immigration laws that affect students as well. She has helped raise thousands of dollars for Out of the Shadows, a scholarship specifically for undocumented students in Florida that she oversaw for 3 years. She spent a semester working for the Florida Senate and has also worked as a Know Your Rights trainer for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, where she was able to educate the immigrant community about their rights in the United States through mobile consulates. Due to her status, she is unable to qualify for loans and only qualifies to be eligible for a very limited amount of scholarships. Mariana has been paying for her education out of pocket, working 20 to 30 hours during school and 50-plus hours during school breaks. Her only close relative in the States, her mother, has been undergoing difficult medical procedures, including treatment for human papillomavirus and, most recently, severe glaucoma, making her unable to support her daughter. After graduation, she hopes to attend law school to continue her fight for immigrant families across the Nation. But if the DACA program doesn't exist, if DREAMers aren't given their rights, then she will never be able to practice law under Florida law. I am proud to announce that Mariana will be completing a congressional internship in my office this semester. In Florida, we have 92,000 individuals who would be eligible for DACA, 92,000 DREAMers, and I have met so many of them. They are ambitious. They are attending college.