the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, the gentleman from o'rourke, is recognized for 60 minutes. mr. o'rourke: i ask that members extraneous remarks. i rise today to share the stories of and celebrate the dreamers who live in our communities, mine in el paso, texas and nearly every single community across the great united states. all together, we estimate there are close to 750,000 dreamers in the united states. these are beneficiaries of an

executive action under this president, known as the deferred action for childhood arifles that ensured that young people in our communities who arrived in this country at a very early age, brought here by their parents from another country of origin, who are going to school, living by our laws, being productive and net contributors to their community, who in some cases strive to serve in the military or perform some other community or civic service, are able to reside in this country after they come forward voluntarily, out of the shadows, to give their personal information, their fingerprints, their contact information, their names, addresses, their telephone numbers, in other words to register with the government so we know who is in this country and satisfy some legitimate security concerns we have when it comes to undocumented immigration. these young dreamers have

satisfied those concerns by coming forward. and this temporary reprieve from deportation allows them to continue to live in our communities, to continue to be our neighbors, to continue to make this country great and make cities like el paso, the safely, wonderful communities they are. and el paso has more than its fair share of dreamers and the safest city not along the u.s.-mexico border but the safest city in the united states today. the urgency behind our actions today lies with the commitment from the president-elect to immediately terminate the current president's executive actions when it comes to these dreamers. this commitment to terminate this action will also terminate

any certainty these young people have. it will reduce the security of our communities when young people no longer feel comfortable approaching or working with law enforcement for fear of deportation and it produces extreme anxiety and fear that i can only begin to imagine for myself and my kids if i knew that i had given all of my personal identifiable information including the address i reside, telephone number and names of my parents to the federal government, which now may have a policy to immediately deport me back to the country of origin which if i was 20 years old and attending the university of texas in el paso, i may have come over at the age of three and for the last 17 years, only life i knew was in the united states. the only city i knew was el paso

texas. the only language i spoke was english. i had no country of organization origin. i would be unable to thrimb and i think for some of these young people they question the ability to survive. it's really that critical and very important that we remind ourselves and certainly our colleagues here in the house of the gravity of the situation. beyond the moral imperative, which is the most important, there is an economic dynamic of this. the department of commerce estimates that the dreamers, the 750,000 strong dreamers who are contributing every single day, going to our high schools and making our country better that over their life times in the united states they will earn up to $4 trillion of taxable income, taxable income that will allow the communities they live

in to flourish, to thrive to enrich those they hire and to work with and to add significantly to the federal treasury. that's just one point in terms of the economic advantage of creating additional certainty and at a minimum, not forcibly removing these dreamers or terminating the protection under which they currently reside. before i recognize one of my colleagues to share their stories about the dreamers in their communities and again they are in every single state of the union and every community in every one of those states, i thought i would share the story of one of the dreamers i met this monday in el paso, texas, when i held a town hall on short days' notice but notified them over facebook and twitter and published in the newspaper. and more than 300 showed up to

share their stories and what they are now doing in our communities. and even more impressively and poignantly for me and in the audience that night were the u.s. citizens in el paso who showed up to stand in strength with these dreamers and let them know that come what may, whatever executive actions are terminated, whatever necessary immigration reform laws are not enacted that we as a community are going to stand with these dreamers and make sure they are successful and make sure they have nothing to fear. and one of these dreamers that had the courage to stand up and a counted on monday night was 17-year-old. she arrived in the united states in el paso texas, which has served as the ellis island for much of the western hemisphere at the age of three years old and i ask you to tell me what

three-year-old understands concepts like citizenship or nationality. she doesn't speak the spanish language anymore that she barely knew at the age of three. she only speaks english. she is a junior at a local high school. captain of the soccer team, on the student council and press box manager and earning a little bit of money to be able to take home at the end of the day and helps out and goes to every single football game to support the hometown team and she runs on the cross country team. my eight-year-old daughter, molly o'rourke has an example. i want molly to be able to do those things. she is proud of what makes el paso such a wonderful place to live in and so proud to represent the community and helps again to keep us the

safest city in america, bar none. there are 750,000-plus who have come forward to register with their government and make sure they are in our communities and defer the action that otherwise would deport them back to their countries of origin and make this country successful. at this time, i would like to recognize a good friend and colleague from the great state of texas, who understands these issues just as well as anyone who has thousands of dreamers in his community and who i am so grateful to for being here tonight, mr. speaker, i recognize the gentleman from texas, mr. castro. ms. castor: thank you for all of -- mr. costa: thank you for your work -- these young people brought to the united states through no fault of their own .nd grown up here

president obama during his term was so good to issue an executive action to give daca to give folks a chance to participate in american society. mr. castro: daca allows them to work and go to school and not have to live in fear and not live in fear of deportation. as you mentioned, many of these folks are people who are brought here at the age of three, five or nine or had no choice about coming. they didn't realize they were not american citizens until they had to apply for college or a driver's license or some other way interact with the government. there has been rhetoric over the past two years about immigrants and been called rapists, murderers and criminals.

there is so much of that kind of rhetoric that is used when people talk about the border, for example, and even the people that live in our border cities, whether it iselle passo, san diego. my wife is from the rio grande valley where you have a high concentration of dreamers, for example. but -- sometimes, in all of that rhetoric and ugliness, there is a profound misunderstanding about who these people are. and so thank you for helping to highlight their stories and really for the country put a human face to these folks, who are good people. and i'll tell you, because i know other members have stories of dreamers in their districts, just a quick story about somebody from san antonio, a named eric. eric was the value dick torian in 2009.

he was number one in his last at highlands school, he played varsity soccer and received a full scholarship to harvard university. and while returning to harvard in 2010 to complete summer research in biology, he was detained at the san antonio international airport for traveling without acceptable identification. after efforts from senator durbin and harvard university president, immigration services was able to grant him deferred status and his story has a happy ending. he graduated from harvard in 2013. there have been other folks who achieved just as much who are productive members of our country and society, but oftentimes, they are maligned and often misunderstood and we are at a critical moment in our country's history and there is a

question about how we will treat these dreamers, these young students and young people again who find themselves in a legal limbo, who are as american as we are, who have only known america as our homeland. there is a big question about what will happen with them. the president-elect has talked about getting rid of daca early on, perhaps in the first day in office. so i'm sure you found, there is a lot of anxiety from these young people and also their families about what's going to happen to them. they played by the rules. they are being productive and working hard and going to school and paying their taxes and living as americans and this will be a real test for the congress, for the president-elect, who will on january 20 be the new president and really for the nation about what kind of nation we are. his really tugs at our

conscience. and when we think about some of the rhetoric that has been use oned. some people call them criminals and say they have broke the law. i think when i hear that, as an attorney i think about the different legal standards that we apply in criminal cases, for example. there is something known as state of mind. often when you are charged with a crime, a jury or a judge asks did you intend to do what you did? did you know what you were doing? even in our civil cases, when we think about the negligence standard and there is a question about whether somebody was indifferent to what they were doing, well, in this case, these young people had no idea what was going on. they had no participation in even coming to the united states. but they find themselves here as

americans. and i hope that our nation and this congress and the next president will be big enough, gracious enough and will respect their humanity and do the right thing and make sure they are protected under the law. and as you know -- first of all, thank you for holding your town hall which mamb the first one in the season after the election. we will have one in san antonio on december 11, which is a sunday with state representative who organized and spearheaded, and lloyd doggett and state senator menendez and other members who are going to hold similar town halls and i'll read off just a few of them because it's important to acknowledge that work. . ubin gallego in phoenix.

michelle lujan grisham in new mexico and raul ruiz who has a district in southern california. i know that there are others that are being scheduled but i think all of this work is so important because when we talk about daca, we're not talking about a piece of legislation that's going take months to come through the house of representatives and the senate. this is sgs something, a decision, that the president on -- this is something, a decision, that the new president on january 20 can make a decision to do away with it completely. and to subject these kids to deportation. often to a country that they have never known, that they have no recollection of being part of or growing up in. and this really is a moral question, as you mentioned, for the country. that pulls at our conscience. thank you for all area wourk. -- work. >> i can't thank the gentleman from texas enough for taking the time to be here, for his leadership on this issue. not just after this election and not just since he's been in the house of representatives,

but really his whole life has been exemplary in his advocacy for the most vulnerable amongst us. mr. o'rourke: and ensuring the truth about the story of these young people who come to our country. who -- it is not simply a matter of sympathy, although i sympathize with their situation. it's also a matter of our self-interests as a country and as we continue to look for ways to become a stronger and better country, so much of that lies with those who have made the very difficult choice to come here and contribute to our success and contribute to the american dream. i am grateful to you for continuinging to advocate for them and to share those stories with the rest of the country. i'd now like to recognize another very good friend from the state of massachusetts, a state that has known its share of amazing story of immigration and -- stories of immigration

and seeing those immigrants flourish and become the best of us in this country. at this time i'd like to recognize the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. kennedy. mr. kennedy: thank you for yielding. thank you for organizing this critical special order. most importantly, always, for your fierce advocacy for people of your district, people of our country, for immigrants and for dreamers. i begin by echoing your comments and that of our colleague, mr. castro, as well. the stories that you both have shared underscore the urgency that we face in protecting these children and young adults from deportation under the next administration. but tonight, right now, there are high school seniors across our country writing college essays, compiling recommendations, filling out applications, who are not sure if they will be allowed to stay in this country when it comes time to enroll in classes.

there are elementary and middle school students that are working diligently on their homework because one day they want to pursue a college education or work in their communities and now they're not sure if that day will come. the young professionals working in factories, teaching in our schools, volunteering in our neighborhoods, or even preparing to join the military, that are going to sleep tonight worried that when the calendar strikes 2017 the only life that they have ever known might be shattered. all of these children, young , ple, all 740,000 of them they are our fewer you to. -- future. they put their trust in us, their government. and our promise to protect them if they stepped out of the shadows.

today that faith is frayed. and it is our responsibility, all of ours, as this body, to commit to them that the only country that they know will not wash away their contributions, those that they have made, and send them to an unfamiliar land. because they believe in the american dream. just as our an set ofers did -- ancestors did and as we do today. because they are dreamers. because they are our neighbors, our friends, our classmates, our community, so much more. because they are our countrymen. down this hallway in the senate , a few of our republican colleagues have already started on legislation to protect daca beneficiaries. in order to lift the cloud of doubt for thousands in our

country, fighting for their rights must be our priority today and every day until we succeed. congressman o'rourke, mr. castro, my colleagues gathered here with us this evening, thank you for your work, thank you for your passion, thank you for your commitment. i know that we're on the right side of this fight. when i see all of you standing here. i yield back. mr. o'rourke: i'd like to thank the gentleman from massachusetts for his eloquence on this and for his empathy in allowing us to try to think about what it must feel like to be working on that finals paper or that homework assignment in high school or at community college or at one of our great universities and not know if at the start of next semester you'll find yourself in another country, in a place that is now strange to you, with a language that you don't speak. when we think about this, when

we think about these mass deportations, literally using the information that these young people and their families came forward with to register under the daca program, and then using that against them after they voluntarily came forward to find out where they live -- forward, to find out where they live, pick them up, process them, deport them back to their country of origin, eyond the incalculable emotional human psychological toll, beyond what that would do to the conscience of this country, you look at what it would cost us in financial terms. 2.6% of our 2% to g.d.p. we'd lose nearly $5 trillion over the next 10 years. and government receipts on the trillions of dollars that these dreamers would otherwise earn would also be gone with those dreamers. nearly $900 billion that we

would lose from the united states treasury. and we would lose young americans like the one who is pictured next to me. david gomez, who is now 20 years old and joined us monday at our town hall in el paso, texas. one of these brave, young, el pasoans, young americans, who had the courage to come forward and shared with us at that town hall that he came to this country at the age of 10. he came from mexico city. he immediately applied himself, learned english, rose to the top of the ranks in his high school classes, took a.p. courses, and is now a member of the stem club at the el paso community college and is pursuing a career in electrical engineering. he's an artist, he loves to draw, he loves to paint, he wants to be an innovator and his heroes are all american heroes. his heroes are eland musk, bill

gates, lar yellson, those people who are -- larry ellison, those people who are contributing to our country, creating jobs, innovating, creating, growing this economy. that's what david wants to do. that's what he will do if he's able to stay in this country. i think it's so important for us to give david the certainty and also at the same time not to provoke anxiety and fear that will cause him to lose this opportunity, to lose his way, and for us to lose out on all of the amazing things that he can create. as i introduce a member who has become a very good friend and a mentor to me, who's from this same town of el paso, texas, that i have the honor of representing, i'm going to, without embarrassing her, -- well, she's very graciously yielding to her colleague from nevada, so i'm going to now recognize my colleague from nevada, who i have the pleasure of sitting with on the veterans affairs committee -- veterans'

affairs committee, and over the last years i've learned from because she's the most tireless champion for veterans, she's the most tireless champion for the lgbt community. she's often the most tireless champion for those who do not have a voice in our system or whose voice is not loud enough, so it is up to ms. titus to amplify that voice and become their advocate. it's with great pleasure that i yield to ms. titus of nevada. ms. titus: thank you very much, congressman o'rourke, and thank you, congresswoman lee, for yielding. you are too kind in your compliments -- compliments. i give them right back to you. we've worked together on many things, including veterans and public lands and now this very pressing issue of what we can do to protect our dreamers. since the election, my office has just been deluged by phone calls. phone calls from the daca recipients, those we call dreamers, from their friends, from their families. they are afraid, you can just

hear the fear in their voice. and they're just calling to ask questions. will i be deported? will my friends be deported? will my family be separated? will i lose my house? will i lose my job? will i lose my scholarship? should i apply for daca? should i apply to renew daca or should i just keep my head down and hope that they don't notice that i'm here? it just tears your heart out. and that's one of the reasons that in my district in las vegas we held a round table, not a town hall, but we started with those organizations who help dreamers. we had catholic charities, we had the university, unlv, we had other institutions of higher education, we had the latin chamber, we had the mexican and the salvadoran consulate, all gathered around the table, because we don't know how to answer those

questions. and we wanted to be sure we were all on the same page, giving people the same advice and reassuring them that whatever happens, we will be there for them. and that helps a little. but still, you want to be able to say, this is what you are facing. and i know i'm not the only one getting these calls. they are coming from kitchens and living rooms and restaurants and stores and families all across this country. as you have heard from some of the other speakers here tonight. and for our dreamers and their families, this fear and anxiety will continue to grow. and i'm afraid they're just going to return to the shadows, if we don't act soon to responsibly reform our immigration system. now, as yet we've heard very little from the trump transition team, but -- about what's actually going to happen to the dreamers once president obama leaves office.

will they round up people and send them back? will they build that wall? we don't know. but what we do know is that mr. sessions has been appointed as attorney general, who has a very long record of opposing comprehensive immigration reform. actually railing against it, and that's not a very good sign. so, after months of just disgraceful campaign rhetoric, speeches that denigrate immigrants, trump and his team now have to really deal with the gravity of the situation. so i would suggest to begin with they should aquaint themselves with some of the young men and women who have been able to go to work, go to school, contribute to the tax base, contribute to society and our culture like those that you have mentioned, mr. o'rourke, because they had that protection, excuse me, of daca. so instead of demoralizing and

degrading them, they should take the time to learn about people like brenda romero. brendsa's a young dream who are -- brenda's a young dream who are interned in my office this summer. she's one of 12,000 dreamers in nevada. she's not a rapist and she is not a drug dealer. she's a high school graduate and the first immigrant to be the student body president of a small college in my home state. she's now pursuing a law degree. brenda was brought to the united states from mexico when she was just 2 years old. and like so many of the over 700,000 dreamers, she didn't really have any choice in that decision. but she has had a choice about her life and she has made the . st of it like so, so many dreamers, including another dreamer from las vegas that many of you, who many of you have seen on television, an amazing national spokeswoman for this campaign for dreamers, astrid silva.

they have contributed, they inspire me. and that's the reason i'm joining you here tonight. to talk about their stories. and they are the reason that i will continue to be on the front line to fight to make this country a better place for them so they in turn can make it a better place for all of us. i want you to go out and meet these people. i want you to sit down with them eye-to-eye and hear their stories and you'll understand just how remarkable they are. they'll make you very proud and you will find you have more in common with them and their families than you have apart. now, we are not a country that should alienate immigrants. we are characterized by the statue of liberty. those yes or noing to be free. surely we can't forget that

history and heritage we have welcoming immigrants with open arms. we are not a country that should be tearing families apart. as we stand here on the floor of the house, i just ask you to make that effort and get to know the dreamers in your community, and hear their stories and you'll agree with me just how remarkable they are. thank you for letting me speak. count on me to continue this fight. and if we can't do comprehensive immigration reform in the short-term, let's protect the dreamers who have that status so they don't have to live in fear. mr. o'rourke: i thank the gentlelady from nevada for sharing these personal stories of the people in her community who inspire her and these stories of courage that the gentlelady just recounted and i have been trying to share about the young dreamers in my

community of el paso, that were the impet tuesday of our coming together this evening and sharing with our colleagues the truth about a group of very special young people who are too misunderstood. so i'm grateful to you for your efforts to improve our understanding of this very special group of people. and when i'm thinking about these courageous young people that i have been introducing you to tonight from the city of el paso who have happened to have age,to my city atal tender three, five, seven years old and now as they are in their teens and early 20's they are flourishing and inspiring us. i want to share a story that goes back a few generations. and that is the story of mildred

tutt who in el paso texas in 1955 after having been graduated from douglas high school, a segregated all-black institution in my community of el paso texas, had the audacity to apply for enrollment at texas western college now know as the university of texas at el paso. and her application was rejected solely based on her race. so mildred and her friend, thelma white, and a few other students teamed up and with the help of the naacp and an attorney thurgood marshal and took this issue to a federal court and thanks to the wisdom and judgment of our federal judge at the time, not only was it found that texas western's ban on african-american students

was unconstitutional, his ruling and their effort and mildred acourage effectively desegregated the institutions of higher learning in texas for every single texan and as i was sharing with some of my colleagues yesterday as i was introducing barbara lee, this took incredible personal sacrifice. and i can only imagine the difficulty that mildred faced on that day and yet it was so incredibly important for this country. and that's the kind of story we are telling about these courageous young people who we want to continue to allow to flourish. i want to at this time introduce the gentlelady from california, barbara lee, who has her roots deeply in the state of texas at el paso. i yield to ms. lee. ms. lee: let me thank you,

congressman o'rourke, for lifting up my mother who was a phenomenal mother who passed away last year who broke many glass ceilings and i want to thank you for recognizing what a true hero she was. and i just have to tell you, i want to thank you for your tireless advocacy on behalf of my hometown, the place of my birth, el paso, texas, on so many fronts, but especially on behalf of immigrants. i grew up in an immigrant community and i can tell you my mother, my grandfather, my sters, my brothers in law, everybody from el paso consider you our representative. so thank you very much. we are very proud of you. i attended st. joseph's elementary school on waco and we

were taught we must value the dignity of all human beings. i was taught by the sisters of loretta in el paso. and now representing the beautiful east bay of northern california, my values and what i learned from my mother and my grandfather and my parents in el paso, really drive me to continue our fight on behalf of our young people, on behalf of our dreamers. four years ago, president obama made history by announcing the deferred action for childhood arrival program. this critical provides and this is common sense humane protections for undocumented americans mind you, who were brought to our nation as young children. since the executive action, about 744,000 young people have benefited from this important program. and i'm proud to say that now one in three dreamers in the

united states are from my state of california. these are brilliant young people who deserve the chance to live the american dream. daca empowers young people and keeps families together even in the face of republican inaction on comprehensive immigration reform. now this is an issue that is dear to my heart. as i said, i grew up in el paso in an immigrant community. we have to protect our young people and keep families together. more than a quarter of the residents now in my congressional district were born outside of the united states. tens of thousands of young people have benefited from the daca program. we sponsoredal town meeting several weeks ago and was sponsored by oakland community organizations and it was an amazing town meeting. everyone participated.

it was multi racial and held in the catholic cathedral and there are several stories i would like to share quickly. one dreamer and daca recipient, let's call her amy and born in venezuela and came to the united states as a child. daca opened doors. she received her bachelor's lawe at ucla and obtained a degree. amy became the first daca recipient to be admitted into the california bar. i'm so proud of her and taken her skills and experiences to give back to our community. today she works at a nonprofit in the east bay where she is an advocate for immigration reform and help other people benefit from the daca program. while she spends her days helping her community, she still lives in fear for her family and fear for her friends and fear of

being deported at any moment. i have another constituent, let's call him gabrielle, who i met him at the same event. he came to the united states 10 years ago. since then, he has used his voice to empower his community and advocate for immigrants. in high school, he started a local dreamers' club advocating for the inclusion and advancement of undocumented students. he went on to attend u.c. berkley and able to receive funds to cover most of his studies. through daca and state policies he was able to afford the high cost of living in the bay area and receive a world class education. he and amy show the potential of your people. their determination to live the american dream, receive a quality education and help their communities was really unlocked

through daca. it's terrible to think of the dreams that would be thought of by rolling back. i hear stories, stories of families who were kept together because of daca and young people who were able to attend college and pursue their dreams. now these young people are afraid. they fear that their families will be torn apart, that their parents may be deported, that their american dream is truly in jeopardy. we have been a nation of immigrants. right now we know that immigrants in my district, in el paso all across our nation are scared to death about what this next administration will bring. their families that wake up in fear that come january 21, their work or school will be raided. there are dreamers who dread being forced to leave the country, the only country that they have ever known. this is morally wrong.

the nuns who taught me at st. joseph's would be shocked if they knew what was taking place now. we are better than this. they deserve from this country and this congress. i'm calling on my republican colleagues to let us vote on bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform, legislation that will re-union if i families and grow our economy and provide a clear pathway to citizenship. i know all of our colleagues will continue to fight for and pass for the dream act. but minimally, we have to protect our nation's dreamers and immigrants and all families. thank you for your leadership and thank you for inviting me and my family is very proud of you, our congressman. mr. o'rourke: i thank the gentlelady from california and i thank her for continuing the profile in congress and the

issues that matter most and continues to stand out as an example to me and tonight is testimony to that. i'm grateful to her for being here. i now want to recognize yet another good friend, embarrassment in the chambers to have so many talented members who have decided to stand up and with some of the best amongst us. and in my opinion, the gentleman from oregon, who in the four years i have been here has taught me so much and much of that by example is perfectly suited to share his experiences, those of the community he represents and what he wants to see going forward for this great country. and i recognize and yield to mr. blumenauer of oregon. mr. blumenauer: i appreciate the gentleman's courtesy in permitting me to speak this evening and for your thoughtfulness in organizing

this conversation and inviting other colleagues to come forward. it is important to be able to put a human face ol an issue at gets lost in the rhetoric and people of different religions, people who would be at risk to deportation to maybe having a registry, maybe having denial based on people's religion or what the perceived religion might be. has sent shock waves. but it's nothing compared to what i have experienced in the days immediately after the election. people who were apprehensive and concerned are terrified. children unsure about whether parents will be there when they

come home from school, people who are concerned about whether they will be able to have employment and it's not just people who may not have the documents in order. this touches millions of americans who are part of extended families, who are part of families in the workplace. i was honored to be part of a fundraising event two weeks ago that was hosted by oregon's wine industry, who came together in a lavish fundraising dinner and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the health care for the employees in their vineyards. they're not asking about their documentation and they understand that there are some questions. but they are not seeking what people's history are but people

worked for them for years who are like family and connected to the community. the notion of sending these andg people back who as you our other colleagues pointed out, came here as children. they didn't have any choice. what four-year-old, three-year-old, two-year-old, infant, is making this journey on their own. they were raised here. many of these young people have as you have already testimony this evening have had amazing records of success. and they took the united states government and its president at his word and came forward and took a little bit of a risk because they wanted to be part of the fabric of this country. . they're in this situation, sadly, because of a failure of

will by my republican colleagues in the house. as the gentleman knows, he was here when we had an opportunity to vote on comprehensive immigration reform that passed the senate on a bipartisan basis. wasn't a great bill. but it was an important step forward. on a bipartisan basis, it would have prevented some of this confusion, some of this pain nd some of this uncertainty. if the republican leadership had allowed it to come to the floor for a vote, they wouldn't have had to twist any arms there would have been more than enough votes on both sides of the aisle to enact it. that failure of courage stoked part of this hateful campaign that we've all experienced. and has kept these unfortunate

people and their families and friends, whether they're citizens or employees or part of the community, under a cloud. this is a failure of the house of representatives that has created this situation. we should not as a country compound it by raising the specter of decent, hardworking young people who are here through no act of their own, who have taken a step forward, a little risk, to try and integrate into our society, who are high performing. i could give examples tonight of a young man who's completing his dental studies at oregon health science university. a dreamer. who dreams big about serving his community as a professional

dealing with dental health. a young woman who is a human resource professional at the largest school district in our state, who isn't just adding her competence, but is being able to provide opportunities to deal with some of the real serious human resource questions. from first line experience. we could all do this if we tried. mr. o'rourke, i deeply appreciate your bringing this forward. i think it would be a tragedy if we were to punish people who took the president at his word, who put confidence in this congress to unwind this unfortunate situation, but i think it's important that all of us add our voices, that we connect with the people at home who are desperate and apprehensive and vulnerable, and be able to make sure the american public knows what's at

stake. because if we add our voices, our examples, and engage them, there's no doubt in my mind that there will be enough public pressure to prevent a tragedy of immense proportions. thank you. mr. o'rourke: i'm so grateful to the gentleman from oregon and could not agree more forcefully with his words. in addition to these, again, inspiring examples of what the dreamers mean to us as a country, and what they mean to the gentleman personally, i also enjoyed hearing about how the community he represents is rallying around them and supporting them and ensuring that they know that they are not alone, despite the rhetoric, despite the changes that we might see in executive actions going forward. and i'm also deeply appreciative of the gentleman's reminder that it's this institution that really has the opportunity, the responsibility , and the power to correct this. and in these four years that

i've had the pleasure of joining you here in the house, i know that both of us and dozens of other colleagues have -- our colleagues have tried mightily to do that. unfortunately to no avail. but that does not in any way damper my enthusiasm to do this. in fact, these stories that we're sharing tonight only cause me to want to redouble my efforts and work with you and our colleagues to make sure that we do everything we can and that beyond that, that we're ultimately effective and successful in studying this country when it comes to the immigration laws and it comes to the lives of these 750,000 dreamers in the right direction, so i thank the gentleman for being here this evening and one thing that the gentleman from oregon said that really struck home and helps me to introduce a very good friend of mine from el paso, claudia, is his comments about family and the importance of family and how fundamental family is to our success. so, i ask those in the chamber

this evening to think about claudia, who's pictured here to my right, in front of the white house, perhaps in 2013 when she served as an intern in my congressional office here. she came to this country for the first time at the age of 8 from venezuela. and has been nothing but exceptional to the community that she lives in, to the country that is now her home and to those that she's worked with, including me and my office, our state senator, jose rodriguez, for whom she works today, and for the courage she showed at coming to our town hall on monday evening where she told us about all of this. and then shared something that was so personally painful and tragic that it could only help me to understand truly what's at stake here. claudia's 010,

mother traveled back to venezuela. and because of claudia's status and because she was a dreamer and because of the provisions within the deferred action for childhood arrival, she was not able to go back to venezuela with her mother. unfortunately last year, claudia's mother passed away in venezuela and claudia could not be there to comfort her mother in her dying days, nor could she be there for the funeral, nor could she be there with those family members who came together to grieve her mother's passing. our inaction causes tremendous pain and suffering for those who we have the power to help right now. i would like at this point to recognize another colleague with whom i was elected in 2012 , the gentleman from illinois, mr. foster. mr. foster: thank you, be tmbing o. i'm congressman bill -- beto. i'm congressman bill foster and i'm proud to represent the 11th district of illinois.

in our district we have vibrant immigrant communities from all over the world. i've met many dreamers, both at home in illinois and right here in the halls of congress. for many of them the united states is the only country that they've ever called home. our district includes the diverse cities of aurora, bolingbrook, joliet and others. in aurora, the east aurora high school district, 131, has one of the largest naval junior rotc's in the world. and many of these young rotc students come from immigrant families and they dream one day in serving our country in the armed forces. you can see it in their faces during flag ceremonies, parades, and you can see the admiration of the younger children looking up to these rotc dreamers. many of them are here because their parents dreamed of a better life for their children. the daca program has been incredibly successful. over half a million young people are currently enrolled in it.

they are living examples of the american dream, the idea that and have a ome here fulfilling and prosperous life, regardless of where you come from or where you live. but instead of creating new opportunities for these great young people, republicans in congress have repeatedly voted to end the daca program. we need to reform our outdated immigration laws and not doubledown on a broken stp -- double down on a broken system. we should honor their patriotism and dedication to our country, with support, not fear and degradation. it's a pretty simple proposition. and thank you so much. mr. o'rourke: i thank the gentleman for being here this evening, for standing up for some who, especially right now, feel that perhaps our government is not with them, perhaps they have been abandoned. perhaps these commitment tharps made to them -- commitments that were made to them, that engendered their trust, their

willingness to come forward to share their personal information, their addresses, their identities, that perhaps they have been abandoned. and your presence here tonight, your words i think do much to show them that that is not the case. and that there's still a chance in this country that we will do the right thing and i appreciate so much the gentleman from illinois for being here tonight. mr. speaker, in closing, let me say that whether it is these 750,000-plus dreamers, these young americans, who at a very tender age were brought to this country by their parents or relatives, and in every single way, except for citizenship, are no different than my three children or anyone else that i represent in the great city of el paso, texas. these dreamers who are going to high school, who are serving in

our armed forces, who are attending our universities, who are in many respects the future of our communities, of our country, who have so much to gain personally and so much to give back to this country, these dreamers must be spared from any decisions that would break the trust that was them, that would force them back to their countries of origin, which they no longer know as home, whose language they no longer speak where -- speak, where they no longer have family with whom they can reside. and, mr. speaker, i think the also important on the larger subject how we talk about those who are in our country from another country. that we remember a few facts. that, for example, the border that connects us with our country and neighbor to the south, mexico, is as safe today as it has ever been. and that the community that i have the honor to represent and

to serve, el paso, texas, which is conjoined with juarez, to form the largest international community in the world srk the safest city -- world, is the safest city in the united states. and it is safe not in spite of but precisely because of our connection with mexico, the mexican immigrants, the mexican americans, and those who are in our community, documented or otherwise, that make el paso such a tremendously safe, wonderful, thriving community. and we know that u.s. cities on the border with mexico and u.s. cities with large immigrant populations are in fact far safer than the average u.s. city in the interior. be that in kentucky, be that in iowa. that's what we have to be proud of. that's what we need to share with the american public. we also need them to know that immigrants, documented or otherwise, and including

especially those who are undocumented, commit crimes, including violent crimes at a far lower rate than do native-born u.s. citizens. we need to remember that we have so much to be proud of, so much to be grateful for, so much to celebrate in the immigrant story, especially these dreamers who right now live in a period of uncertainty, fear and anxiety, and it is incumbent upon us in this chamber to do what we must, to change our laws, to reflect our values, and the reality in our communities and in our country. mr. speaker, i stand ready to work with any member on either side of the aisle to do just that. and i want to thank my colleagues who joined me tonight to help drive home the very important point that everyone who is in our country that has registered with the government, that has come forward, that has applied successfully under the daca program, deserves to stay here

and deserves our help to ensure that our laws allow them to do that going forward. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north dakota, mr. cramer. 0 minutes. mr. cramer: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise this evening to talk about the rule of law. the importance of enforcement of the rule of law. the importance of a government that stands for law and order. and i ask your indulgence, mr. speaker, as i begin my comments tonight by reading a resolution of support, a resolution that illustrates the position of a very important organization in my state of north dakota, the north dakota veterans coordinating council. it reads like this. whereas the protests against the dakota access pipeline have been going on for over 100 days

in north dakota. whereas the protests have been conducted on public and private land without proper permission. whereas the protests have not remained peaceful. in fact, the protesters have caused millions of dollars in damage, they've destroyed public and privately owned property, vehicles and equipment to include heavy equipment and trucks owned by private contractors, at least two government trucks, cut privately owned fences and slaughtered farm animals owned by private farms. protesters have assaulted and thrown molotov cocktails and hard objects at law enforcement officers and military personnel who are sworn to keep the peace and protect north dakota's citizens. whereas protesters have desecrated north dakota state and federal property to