Political Quotes

“I am honored to join my colleagues on the floor today, and I want to thank our great and distinguished leader on this issue, Senator Durbin, who has devoted so many years and so much energy and has been a model for me personally of what an advocate should be in the Senate and most especially on this issue, which has been preeminently important to me since my arrival here almost 7 years ago. For a time, I was on the floor almost every week, periodically, with a photo of another Dreamer, and the reason was to make this issue real in the hearts of the American people, to bring their voices and faces to this body. Today, I am joined in spirit by Alejandra Villamares. She is one of 8,000 Dreamers in Connecticut. I am proud of each and every one of them. She is one of 700,000 Dreamers in the United States of America, and I hope that my colleagues are proud of them in their States, as well, because they are absolutely incredible people. Nobody's perfect, but in many ways, they embody the spirit and values of America. They work hard. They go to school. They are future engineers, scientists, nurses, and doctors. They are of immense value to our economy because they work and contribute, and they will better themselves through education, through their values. And they know what it means to be an American citizen. Even though they are not, they know the value of citizenship. Alejandra came to this country when she was 1 year old.…”