FTP for TV stations of her remarks is available here.
Cortez Masto shared the stories of two Dreamers who wrote her letters about their love for this country and their concern about their uncertain futures.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) took to the Senate floor today to mark 13 years since the creation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. She promised to continue working to protect immigrants who were brought to this country as children and who have only ever called the United States home.
Below are her remarks as delivered:
Mr. President, in five days we will celebrate 13 years since President Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. DACA has proven to be an overwhelming success, allowing Dreamers who have only ever known the United States as their home to continue contributing to our economy and our communities.
DACA protects immigrants who came to the United States as children from deportation, and it authorizes them to legally work. Nevada and every state in the country has benefitted from DACA. We’re a better, stronger country because of this program.
In my home state, nearly 136,000 U.S. citizens live with at least one family member who is undocumented. And 10,730 people in Nevada are DACA recipients. And we know – no matter what President Trump and others say – that our immigrant communities are a critical part of what makes our country great.
I know that. My grandfather was from Chihuahua. Crossed the border, served in our military, and became a United States citizen.
The Dreamers I know in my community have gone to college, they’ve become part of our workforce, they pay billions of dollars in taxes, and they are woven into the fabric of every community in Nevada and across this country. Dreamers contribute $810 million each year to our economy in Nevada alone!
They love this country, and it is their home.
As we celebrate the 13th anniversary of DACA, we must remember that the young people who became the first DACA recipients are now in their 30’s and 40’s. They have the responsibilities that all American adults have: maintaining their careers, caring for elderly relatives, paying bills and mortgages, and yes, putting food on the table for their families.
But their ability to remain in the only home they’ve ever known is in jeopardy thanks to this administration’s threats to end DACA.
President Trump tried to terminate DACA entirely in his first term, but he was stopped by the courts.
Now, immigrant families across the country are once again bracing for their lives to be turned upside down on any given day because of threats of mass deportations and further attacks on the program.
I can’t even imagine how exhausting it must be to spend so many years in fear and limbo, especially for Dreamers who have done everything right, who know this country as their only home, who want to be the future leaders, who want to be part of our communities, who want to be our doctors and our teachers – to know that they’re always concerned about that opportunity for their future. And they have, for the last 13 years, been met with endless delays and politics and people playing with their lives for some sort of political game.
Not only that, but immigrant communities are being demonized and they’re facing threats because of politicians stoking hate and division in our communities. People who have lived here their whole lives and contribute to our country are now being told by those politicians they don’t belong.
Here’s the other thing: I know in my state, they’re being demonized and called out by these politicians as criminals and drug traffickers and rapists. Well, I invite any of those politicians to come into my state and meet with my Dreamers. And I challenge anyone in this country who knows these families and who knows these Dreamers to stand by them. Because right now, they are under attack.
This isn’t something that’s happening out of sight or behind closed doors – it’s happening in our neighborhoods every single day. These Dreamers have families who are a crucial part of our communities. You know them. We know them. We have families, many of them have spouses and children who are U.S. citizens, and they just want to be able to live normal lives and contribute and continue to pay taxes and be part of our jobs and economy and expanding this economy and this country.
I will tell you, over the years, my office has received stacks of letters from Nevadans who have been impacted by DACA about the importance of the program for them and their families. I want to share just a couple of those stories and those letters with you.
I received a letter from a 10-year-old girl who was born in North Las Vegas. Her father is a Dreamer who has lived in the United States since he was 7 years old. Her father always dreamed of becoming a doctor, but for much of his career, he was denied opportunity after opportunity.
That changed when he became a recipient of DACA and was able to get a good job, buy a home for his family, and give his kids a better life. But every day, his daughter lives in fear that her father, who has worked hard in America all his life, could get deported back to Mexico – and that she and her siblings would have to live in a country whose language they don’t even speak.
She said, “I would love for the government to see that my daddy and all Dreamers like him only want to be good citizens and have a better future.” She hopes to be a pediatrician one day and serve her community just like her dad always dreamed.
The second letter I want to share with you I received from a young woman whose parents brought her to Nevada when she was just two years old. When she turned 18, she was excited to start working so she could earn a living for herself. But as an undocumented Dreamer without a Social Security number, she couldn’t apply for the jobs her peers were getting.
She writes, “I am as much a citizen as them. I can do all that they are able to do. I have witnessed several individuals around my age waste their potential. They have everything they could possibly receive and choose not to take advantage.”
I will tell you, Dreamers jump at every opportunity to create a better life for themselves than their parents had. I will tell you, these Dreamers do not run afoul of the law. I will tell you, these Dreamers do everything they possibly can to prove why they want to live here and be a crucial part of our communities. But all the while, they live in fear that their family could be torn apart by our broken immigration system that we have an obligation to fix.
DACA has been an essential way to provide stability for Dreamers and their families.
But in my state and across this country, Dreamers haven’t been able to apply for new DACA protections.
Nearly half of Nevada’s Dreamers are eligible for DACA. But unfortunately, thousands of Dreamers in my state are currently vulnerable because this administration is refusing to accept their DACA applications.
And now, it’s in direct defiance of a court order. In March of this year, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Trump administration must start accepting new DACA applications. Because that is the law. But months have gone by, and we haven’t seen any progress.
Yesterday, my staff learned for the first time that one single new application that had been processed and accepted. Just one. Well, while one is better than zero, I will say this administration has a lot of work to do to follow the law and accept more applicants into the DACA program.
I am so pleased that my colleagues and I are here today to keep the pressure on, to make sure this administration follows the law – but also to appeal to our Republican colleagues. It is time we come together and work together to put Dreamers and their families on a pathway to citizenship.
These Dreamers are as American in their hearts as you and I. Our country is better with them in it. And as we celebrate the 13th anniversary of DACA, I remain committed to working with anyone who is willing to protect them and do the same.
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