On the recordSeptember 6, 2017
Mr. President, I am here to speak about President Trump's decision to shut down the DACA Program, the so-called Dream program that allows children who were brought here by their parents, often at a very young age, and who grew up here and are now, as far as they know, full Americans--this is their home--to not be thrown out of their adopted country and sent home to a place that they do not know, all because of what their parents did when they were still children. We don't even hold children accountable for contracts they enter into. You have to be an adult to be held accountable for a contract you enter into. Yet, apparently, this President is willing to take these children, break up their families, and send them to a country they do not know, all because of a decision that was made by their parents, in some cases when these kids were infants. I have spoken to these kids, who are generally called Dreamers, who have no memory of living anyplace other than this country. I don't know about the Presiding Officer, but it is hard for me to scroll back and come up with any concrete memories of when I was 1 or 2 or 3 years old. These are kids who grew up in American schools. They grew up in American families. They grew up playing American sports. They grew up as a part of our culture.…





