Political Quotes

“Madam President, right now it is estimated that 700,000 Dreamers face the very real threat that they may be ripped from the only life and the only country they have ever known. These are young people who have grown up in America. They go to school here. They work hard here. Often, they work at multiple jobs. They get terrific grades. They give back to their communities. They have done everything right. I have met with them at home. My colleague Senator Merkley and I have met with many of them at joint meetings. A number of them say point blank: We like to serve America. We believe in America. That is all they have known. They serve in the military. They want to do police work. They want to be first responders. In fact, to earn their DACA status, they had to come forward, give their information to our government, and then submit to a background check. Now they are living under this cloud of uncertainty because the President, on his own, stamped an expiration date on the DACA Program. What I wish to do for a few minutes is to talk about these terrific young people--these special young people, the Dreamers--and what they contribute to our country. I was very pleased recently to have Esli Becerra join me at this year's State of the Union speech because in my view he and his younger brother Kevin embody the very best about our country. Esli came to Oregon when he was 8 months old. He got his first job before he was 10 in order to support his family.…”