I don't always like what
I hear from him, but by the same token, he doesn't always like what he
hears from me, particularly on this issue. Nonetheless, he is an
extraordinary American. To the rest of my colleagues and certainly Senator Bennet, who was
part of the Gang of 8, when we went through this a couple of years ago,
it passed in this very same body with 68 votes--comprehensive
immigration reform. Unfortunately, it just languished in the House of
Representatives or we wouldn't be talking about any of this, largely,
today. We would be well on our path to border security, well on our
path to future flows, well on our path to what immigration would look
like in the future, and, of course, a pathway for all of those who have
worked hard in this country and obeyed the law in every other respect. To Senator Flake, who was part of that group, I really appreciate
him. We don't always agree on everything. On foreign policy, we have a
disagreement or two, but on this, we have been locked in laser-like. I
appreciate his willingness, especially in the final year he has decided
to serve here, to take on this challenge. Look, we are about working on finding common ground on some of the
most pressing immigration issues that really go to so many things--
national security, the national economy. I cannot secure America if I
don't know who is here to pursue the American dream versus who is here
to do it harm. For that, one has to bring people out of the shadows and
into the light and have them go through criminal background checks to
know. I cannot thrust that economy even beyond--into warp drive unless
we have everybody fully participating in an open, above-the-ground
economy. One of the most urgent of these issues is the uncertainty
faced by 800,000 Dreamers across America who qualify for protective
status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, which
we call DACA. It is no secret that I deeply disagree with the President's decision
to end DACA. In my view, nothing good could come out of a decision that
jeopardizes the lives of 800,000 DACA recipients, including 22,000 in
my home State of New Jersey who are living lawfully under DACA and
working and studying across our country. This is a program for which I
advocated with the previous administration, with President Obama. Congressman Gutierrez and I and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus were
there and actually gave him legal memos written by attorneys from
across the country--experts in this field--as to why we thought he had
the power to do what he did. I still think that is true. Regardless of
that point, we are beyond that. DACA was never a perfect program, nor was it a replacement for truly
comprehensive immigration reform--an effort to which I remain committed
today, as I was in 2013 when we passed those historic reforms to our
immigration system--the greatest pass in the Senate since the days of
President Ronald Reagan. DACA still did tremendous good for this country. It allowed 800,000
upstanding, undocumented, bright young people who came to this country
as children, through no decision of their own, to come out of the
shadows, step into the light, and pursue their dreams without fear of
deportation, without fear that the knock at the door was not a member
of their family coming back home from work or their neighbor but an
immigration agent. When we talk about Dreamers, we are talking about young men and women
who have grown up in America in every sense of the word. The only
country they know as home is the United States of America. The only
flag they pledge allegiance to is that red, white, and blue with the
stars, the flag of the United States. The only national anthem they
know and want to sing is ``The Star-Spangled Banner.'' The only country
they know is America. They are not undocumented immigrants, they are
undocumented Americans who have proven themselves to be a great asset
to this Nation. Dreamers are studying in our colleges, they are playing on our sports
teams, they are teaching in our schools, and they are wearing, as
Senator Graham talked about our military and the need to respond to the
economics of our military needs--many of these young people are wearing
the uniform of the United States, putting themselves at risk to defend
the only country they know. They are innovating in our economy,
enriching our communities, and otherwise obeying our laws, and most of
all loving this country because it is their country too.
Keywords matched
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