There is no
excuse why the Republican leadership has not brought these issues to
the floor of the Senate for action. I want to start, in regard to the Dreamers, by commending the
bipartisan work of a group convened by Senators Graham and Durbin. They
have come up with a good plan that addresses key issues needed for a
compromise on immigration reform. I was pleased to see they put on
their website a summary of the proposed legislation that deals with the
Dreamers. It deals with border security, deals with diversity visas,
those who are in temporary protective status, and family reunification
and migration. The draft legislation we saw would provide a 12-year pathway to
citizenship for Dreamers, with up to 2 years of credit for time with
DACA. The qualified Dreamers must have entered the United States by
June 15, 2012, when President Obama and the Department of Homeland
Security announced the creation of the DACA Program. I think most of us
know DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. Let me just talk a few minutes about the Dreamers. These are
individuals who entered our country as minors, when they were brought
here by their parents to seek a better life. Under the DACA Program,
they were entitled to a 2-year renewable work permit and the ability to
remain in this country without fear of deportation. Each one has to go
through a criminal background check. They need to be enrolled in
school.
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