Political Quotes

“Madam President, a few months ago I met two sisters from my home State. They are Mari and Adriana Barrera. These two sisters were brought here by their parents when Mari was 7 and Adriana was 3 years old. They were raised by a single mother who spoke no English after their father left the family behind. Growing up, their mother, who worked at a local hotel, did whatever she could to support her family, but Mari and Adriana often had to depend on themselves. Unlike other children her age, Mari told me she grew up the moment her father left. She told me about how she scheduled all of her family's doctors' appointments and how she translated legal documents, and how, at the age of 13, she started working as a hostess at a local restaurant, and not for money, as most teenagers want for their own indulgences, but to support her family. Mari also told me when she was about to enter high school Adriana had to have life-threatening surgery, and a dream was born within herself. As her sister's life hung in the balance, Mari realized she wanted to become a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon. She wanted to help others the way she watched doctors help her sister that day, and she decided she would commit herself to getting the education and work toward that dream. When I talked to Mari that day a few months ago it was just after she had been forced to drop out of the University of Washington because she could no longer afford it.…”