Adriano Espaillat: “I stand on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives as the clock keeps ticking for us to act on behalf of DREAMers…”

“I stand on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives as the clock keeps ticking for us to act on behalf of DREAMers and DACA recipients. Tonight, this House approved a continuing resolution funding government to continue to stay open for another 4 weeks that did not include a resolution to the dire conditions faced by DREAMers and DACA recipients. It did not include funding for community based health clinics, and it certainly did not adequately support the men and women in our Armed Forces. Yet, Mr. Speaker, as we continue to move forward, many Members of this House have worked diligently throughout the months to address the issues faced by DREAMers and DACA recipients. In fact, they have engaged in bipartisan legislative solutions. And we currently have three bipartisan bills that could have been voted on today on this very same floor of the House of Representatives. I guarantee you that if they would have been brought here to this floor and they would have given us the opportunity to vote on them, they would have passed. Because DREAMers are very popular in America. All polls show that over 80 percent of Americans across the Nation in different States, in different cities, want these young people to stay. Once you meet them, once you see their young faces, their energy, their desire to work and move forward, their patriotism for America, they win you over.…”