On the recordJanuary 17, 2018
I thank the gentleman for giving me that opportunity. Florida has every color in the rainbow, every religion, every background. Where you have Mickey Mouse, you tend to have a lot of folks around the world who are familiar with Orlando. So we have Haitians who are DREAMers. We have Peruvians who are DREAMers. We have folks from Vietnam and from Laos who are DREAMers. We have folks from every continent other than Antarctica. I want to make this point: the law makes all the difference in these statuses. I am of Puerto Rican descent. My father was born on the island, so, therefore, he is a citizen by a statute. We have a large Puerto Rican population, where most of my constituents who are from the island are only citizens because of an act passed over 100 years ago. We also have a huge amount of Cuban Americans. Because of wet foot, dry foot policy, and because they were escaping tyranny, they are citizens. So a law makes all the difference, and we know that for a fact and we live it every day in Florida, and that is what these kids need. The law needs to be on their side because it is the right thing to do. A law makes all the difference in these families' stories and these kids' opportunities. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman again for giving me this opportunity.
