It is Time to Vote on the Dream Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to sign the discharge petition to force a vote on the Dream Act. I believe this legislation would pass today if the Speaker would put it to a vote.

Survey after survey confirms that a vast majority of Americans support DREAMers and believe they should be allowed to stay in the United States, the only country they have known since childhood.

Let's be clear: DREAMers' lives are not bargaining chips, DREAMers' future is not a real estate deal. DREAMers have started businesses, they have bought homes, they have mentored high school students, they have found work in nonprofits.

They give back to their community every day. They are teachers, they are nurses and doctors, they are our neighbors, our friends, and, for some of us like me, they are family.

Failing to extend legal protections for DREAMers would be a historic betrayal, a permanent stain on our country. If you have yet to sign the discharge petition, I urge my colleagues to do so now.

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