>> to bring up the house passed bill known as the american dream and promise act which protects the recipients. here is what they had to say. >> i represent part of the great state of texas and chair of the

hispanic caucus. i had a chance to attend the oral arguments over the future and state of daca and whether the supreme court will allow it to stand. all of us do they stand in solidarity and in support of the dreamers and recipients. they are as american as any single one of us. and despite the attempts to slander them to speak ill about who they are and what they represent a. they are able to come out of the

shadows and they now feel the fear of deportation looming but then out in strong force numbers of the business community cannot speak the truth about how valuable our dreamers onto this country. they passed an act. the fact is all of us are anxious to see what the supreme court says.

in the house of representatives and under the speaker pelosi we are also not waiting for the supreme court. and where they belong with all of us. unfortunately right now it is buried in the desk of mitch mcconnell and we are asking the senate majority leader to take action to do right by these folks have to do best for the country. with that it is my honor to introduce somebody i had an opportunity to serve with for several years and was a member of congress with for several years but have now gone on to another wonderful role in service as the attorney general of california and that is my friend javier becerra. [applause] >> i'm not only pleased proud to stand with the democratic

leadership to speak about when california initiated it lawsuit along with many individual dreamers and joined by some 20 other states and the district of columbia, it was to defend the people standing with us here today. it was to defend the values that made it possible for them to feel american and to know they are american. what we heard today in court was that you've got to do it the right way. there is a right way to do things in a wrong way to do things. the dreamers standing here today did exactly what they were asked to do by the federal government. they came out of the shadows and went through background checks and approved they have a basis to be in this country and now they've proven themselves as doctors and lawyers and teachers and successful college students and people don't perceive to be our friends, our family and

first responders. they did it the right way. the folks that did it the wrong way for the trump administrati administration. they tried to eliminate the program illegally and now they are being tested in court. that record so far that have tested the question is found on behalf of the dreamers and we believe that they will as well because they did the right way. the obama administration did tht the wrong way. congress is trying to do it if only the senate republicans would join. and if we do it the right way, these folks we go dreamers will have the chance to shine and prove their worth. we will continue this fight until the very end whether it is to congress for the court. but we understand that when you do it the right way, you should not be punished. now i believe senator durbin of the democratic leadership will

speak next. witwould be handed the microphoe over. >> thank you javier becerra you have carried on with leadership since you left the house. thank you for coming back home to be with us on this historic date. look behind me. that's what they said about these young men and women. he said they were no longer young and angels. none of us are that young anymore i can tell you that and i don't know who would claim to be an angel but this much we know about these men and women standing behind me. you are looking at the most determined and courageous people in the united states of america. they've lived their lives under the shadow of an immigration status that raised the question

every time someone knocked on the door they've been counseled and warned by their parents not to say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing or their entire family could pay the price. that is the price that they've paid to be here today. and one moment in history under president obama we said we are going to give you a chance. you've got to come forward go through a criminal background check and pay a fee and we will give you the chance to stay in the united states on a temporary basis for two years, renewable every two years. we won't deport you. we will let you take a job and what do they do? 790,000 of them trusted this government and stepped forward and find out. many of the parents warned to not put your name on the list for the government. it could come back to hurt our families but they had the courage and belief that their government told them was the truth. they came forward and signed up. 90% of them are working today.

over half of them are in school today. teachers, engineers, members of the military. they are a dream of the future. this battle for the dreamers in my life, my political life began 19 years ago when i introduced the act 19 years ago. it's been a long time to make the trip over to the supreme court this morning. but there is hardly even a chapter written in the united states but hasn't taken a long time. when you are fighting for justice, you've got to be determined and patient. the president tells us when it comes to immigrants is fear, hate. look behind me at these recipients and i do not see that at all. i see her image and hop rich ane future of the united states of america. today we heard the arguments from the supreme court. it is my prayer that they will come down for the good of those that stand behind me and so many

others but it's also my prayer that it comes down our way for the good of the united states of america. what is at stake is our values as americans. immigrants from all over the world said we can make this a better place and think that our parents and grandparents believed that and lead us to les moment. now we have to move forward. you know where the problem is in the senate. we have a good bill, excellent bill passed by the house of representatives sitting on the calendar in the united states senate. we will be making unanimous consent requests to bring this measure to the floor. [applause] i can tell you it is an uphill battle but we want the other party to go on record when the president says it's legislate an issue, in agreement, we are going to call him at his word and ask him to bring the matter

to the floor of the senate this week. i want to thank congresswoman for being here. we've been working together on this for some time. as the chair of the anti-real leader on this issue it is my honor to turn over the microphone to you. >> thank you so much, senator. the senator is correct the people back here this is who we are fighting for. they are not the people the president is trying to portray as murderers and rapists. yet two years ago, the trump administration tried to rip the protections away from nearly 800,000 of dreamers by abruptly terminating the program. the president message to the immigrant communities across america left the dreamers in a state of uncertainty and fear of

being taken away from their family and removed from the only country they call home. the fact is coming and we all know, we have heard this and we have seen this, but the dreamers are american in every way except on paper. they grew up pledging allegiance to the flag and to the country. they are our teachers, neighbors, scientists and business owners, friends and colleagues. they serve in the armed forces and in defense of the country. they pay taxes into they've enhanced the society with their culture. this country is their home. today the highest court in our land heard the case against the termination of daca and it's xenophobic administration. it is my hope that the supreme

court recognizes the personal injustice of the administration's actions and rules in favor of daca recipients. it's also my hope that they will not ignore the fact that the recipients are those of all the dreamers in the nation. hopefully the court will rule to protect the recipients, but as it has been said, congress must go further we must expand protections to all dreamers who deserve an opportunity to become citizens of the only country they know as home. in june of this year, they were given new hope when the house passed my and the congresswoman bill hr six the act of 2019 which protects the dreamers and

recipients as well. it is our hope they will not be complicit in the agenda we must continue to be motivated and active in calling on mitch mcconnell and the senate to pass the dream and promise act because only then will our nation's dreamers be able to live without fear and continue to contribute to the country they love because home is here. now it is my pleasure to turn over the microphone to senator menendez who has also been an incredible supporter for many years. >> as i was sitting in the supreme court today listening to the arguments, it reminded me of

a meeting the congressional hispanic caucus had with then president obama. i have a memorandum to present to president obama to say you have the power to create what we now know as daca. with a lot of work with the members and other colleagues, we ultimately got president obama to agree and create the program did. i listened to the arguments in the court today and in my mind they should decide why. as the case reviewable? if you can get 700,002,000,000 peopl700,000 to amillion peoplet the government says, come

forward, give us all of your information, go to a criminal background check, giv is that reliance is and sustained or reviewable, god knows what is in our country. a basic fare to have a process by which all of those sub that their lives, their information into their most sacred position in this life comes forward and use knob it out without any detailed process to understand what it means and what that reliance meant in the consequences that flow to all of those that support the dreamers into those that have hired them into the universities that have given them admission into those which are ultimately creating a better future for all americans, and then finally coming as it

legal. it's clear to me anybody that has the discretion to decide how they will use the resources of the federal government in a way to ensure that these young people who through no fault of their own broth to the country by their parents ultimately the only fly and they pledge allegiance to us that if the united states and the only hand them a note is the star-spangled banner and only country they've called home is america. the only difference many of them served in the uniform and the united it's imagined saying to those that risked their lives on behalf of those in the united states you are not ultimately able to continue to defend the nation. you are not worthy of being given a temporary status it is unconscionable in my mind. at the end of the day i hope

they decide that i agree with my colleague who's been on the issue for nearly two decades when we pass the comprehensive immigration reform in the senate with over 67 votes only to die we have the best dream or package that ever was envisioned and would have given people the pathway to a clear future and on behalf of the united states fortunately though they never got a vote. i sat in the white house when president trump said i want to treat these people with love. that we don't need because at the end of the day when you end the program, not the court, when you ended the program and when you slaughtered on a pathway that both of these young people at risk, that i isn't love. and when you ask us to be to take their parents, choose their parents and their loved ones over them, haven't met one yet that has told me to do that.

so, just fundamentally wrong with the administration. congress has the right and the power to challenge the executive branch and say we have a different view. let's see who stands for the dream and who wants to snuff it out. i know we have virtually every democrat who will stand with us in support of the dream and hopefully some republicans and then let the president decide does he want to snuff them out or does he love them. i'm pleased to introduce the assistant speaker. good afternoon, everyone. the president said he was going to treat our brothers and sisters with heart. but we continue to see coming

from this administration, the hateful rhetoric and policy is not american. it lacks the moral compass of what america was founded on in this dream come of this delicate idea that we could come from all over the world and contribute to this special place building opportunities, looking out for our families and loved ones and opening up doors for future generations behind us. as with the dreamers were present. they represent the highest of the american ideas we cherish everyday. so why is it that stephen miller and president trump continue with this hateful rant. it's a heart, hatefulness.

there is an opportunity now for the supreme court to do the right thing. the courts have done the right thing. they stood by the american people. by the way, that the president is up to this morning he's trying to diminish public support for these amazing men and women behind me. moms and dads, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors, coworkers. let's do the right thing. let's pray for the country, for the dreamers but what we need for the american people to do something we learned from the congressman john lewis. make some noise. speak up.

stand up and if you don't know if dreamer, just open up your eyes and get to know them. tell their story. i want to close with this. i had the honor of meeting a dreamer from new mexico, recent graduate from the new mexico state university talked about how he went to see his grandmother, his mom who lived just miles away from where he lived in the united states of america. if you support family values across the country, support the dreamers. open your eyes and get to know why we are in this together. with that, i want to turn this over to one of my colleagues from california. >> thank you. and i want to give a big thank

you to everybody that has come out here to stand up against this attack. not all of us here today are dreamers but every person in the room knows or has met a person whose life literally depends on this decision. the dreamers are not strangers. they are teachers, classmates, entrepreneurs, members of the military and our neighbors. don't you think they deserve to live without fear? they don't deserve to be stuck in limbo just because of the president's petty politics. the only place that they call home is the united states of america. that shouldn't be controversial. it is just a fact. but this administration doesn't like facts and they don't seem to like rules or walls or following the rules either. but the supreme court has the

opportunity to enforce the rule and follow the law. the supreme court has the ability to defend our democracy and our system of checks and balances. the only fact trump knows is that he wins when he puts some americans against others. we will not let that divide us or turn our backs on our neighbors. we cannot let that system when. a house divided against itself cannot stand. now daca has never been enough to protect the dreamers in the long run. it's a temporary solution. but right now it is all that these upstanding men and women have. they are american in every single way except for on paper. they are just as american as those that arrived on the mayflower. they are just as american as you

and i. and they deserve the simple perfection. president trump is very fond of talking about the merit-based immigration system but i can't think of a group that is more meritorious than the men and women that stand behind me. dreamers have succeeded in the country despite every obstacle that has been put in the path they contribute every single day despite the repeated attacks by those who don't know or want to know them and why our president. all eyes are on the supreme court today in hopes that they will uphold the rule of law. they have a chance to protect them and defend a message that america is not a monarchy. please know we are in your corner. we are in this fight. we will continue to fight to protect daca into the dreamers

whose only home is here. i want to thank again everybody that has come out in support of the dreamers and building the country and making it great. from the great state of nevada, senator cortez. let me thank all of my colleagues but most importantly the dreamers that are standing behind us. they are not merely a backdrop. this is what you see here are the faces of the people and families that live across this country. in nevada there are 12,000 recipients, and what we heard today is a supreme court actually taking an oral argument on the state of the dreamers across the country.

i am here to tell you and i think we all are that it shouldn't come down to the supreme court making that determination. and i hope they do the right thing. it comes down to all of us in this country not whether we are in congress, but in the administration or individualized in our communities. all of us doing right by these kids that you see behind us, the families and everybody across the country. i can't tell you how many stories are out there of the real lives and impact. i know it's easy when we get back here in this bubble we make decisions that have a determination on so many people across the country. but those decisions that we make have real-life impacts on the stories and the lives of the people and the dreamers you see before you.

these are not just faces and names. these are individuals living in the community just when an opportunity to succeed. they are hard-working, working two jobs, getting an education, they are helping their families and we are telling them you do all of that and we are going to deport you. that is outrageous. that isn't what the country is built on board who we are as americans. most importantly that isn't what we should be giving to the best and the brightest for our country. this administration, whether it's the president or the people around him want to play politics with the lives of dreamers and their families. we have seen it time and time again. but here is my one offer.

if you love the dreamers and you want to do right by then, theirr families and the country, then i offer you to sit with me and talk with them. learn who they are, listen to their stories and you will understand what the rest of us that they arbut they are an intf who we are as a country, as americans, united states and what we have done year after year to open our doors to the best and brightest becaus the be what we have behind us are the best and brightest. we will continue to fight across the country and i thank you all for being here and i look forward to continuing the fight with all of you. thank you. ask [applause] >> i hope i got my instructions

right on the order. we have of course wonderful leaders in the chambers and it's my honor now to introduce a gentleman from new york who has been fighting for many years now and recipients for many years now in the united states senate and that is the new york senator chuck schumer. >> ladies and gentlemen, we often ask what is america, this is america. all the people here. this is our hope, this is our future. these people. they are what makes america a great country and people like them who've come here decade after decade in century after

century. they are our future. if we don't have people like these young people as american citizens, america will not have the future that will be anywhere close to as bright as our past. we have always been a nation of immigrants from the very early days. we've always treasured immigrants from the very early days and all of a sudden we have a president who thinks that he can gain political ground by attacking these beautiful kids and for so many millions of others like them who come from around the globe to live the american dream. we are hopeful that the court will shine a light on us.

will understand the right thing to do, that a president that wants to violate the law and trample on the rights of people like the folks behind us is so wrong that in the nation of the rule of law he will be rebuffed in that they will be allowed to stay here and become citizens. that is what we hope. the president's relentless scapegoating of immigrants is the most un-american thing i can think of. my middle name is a listin now g for ellis island. they didn't cross to come through to ellis island but it's the same thing the southern border and ellis island. it's the same. a symbol of hope, freedom, a bright future. the senate democrats and house

democrats will not rest until the dreamers behind us and the millions like them whether they are dreamers or others become full-fledged proud american citizens. [applause] we are going to hear from a few of our dreamers. the first person we are going to hear from. today has been a historical day for so many and a day filled with so many emotions. the primary emotion that i've

been feeling over this fight has been that of confucian. i am confused. 86% of americans support the right to residency for the recipients. 86%. in today's america there are very few things that have an 86% approval rating. i don't even think ice cream has an 86% approval rating. despite an overwhelming amount of support for daca recipients like myself who continue to contribute to the academia and the economy, the executive branch wants to take it away. the legislative branch is yet to sign a bill an into the judicial branch is examining its legitimacy. i am genuinely confused. recipients contribute $1.4 billion in federal taxes alone every year another 1.7 in

state taxes and we generate 42 billion in gdp every year while the cost of removing daca alone would be $10 million. these are young individuals that have a nearly spotless record in addition to being enrolled in school or have graduated. individuals that are completely integrated into america as the average age the recipients come to the united states is only 6-years-old. any do not even know they are undocumented until they were teenagers. i was born in canada and came to the united states for 5-years-old. i went to school in america from k-12 and spent another four years in america going to college and now i'm in my third year of law school at the school of law learning about the united states of america. both of my parents are american citizens. my only sibling is an american citizen and i am undocumented

but somehow my government is arguing i don't belong here. my question then to my government is where do i belong? is that the country i spent the first five years of my life, the country that i haven't been to in over 20 years? do you understand why i'm confused? you may be wondering why or how i need in the undocumented. an undocumented. when my parents became permanent resident in 2009 they applied for my citizenship at the time i was 14-years-old. in the meantime i have received daca that allowed me to get a drivers license and pay in-state tuition for college. my parents received their american citizenship less than two weeks after i turned 21 and there should have been a day filled with joy and celebration but technically when i turned 21 and under the law i was no longer considered my parents

child in my application was terminated. we begged for them to make an exception but the bequest though on deaf ears. the only way to renew the application was to go back to canada but then i would be barred from coming back for ten years. so daca was my only option and remains my only option. my only option to stay in the only country that i know of as home is in jeopardy. if it were to be rescinded by would be left with over $100,000 in private student loan debt since i wasn't eligible for aid and unable to use the skills i paid tuition to acquire because i'm only in american jurisprudence. i know nothing about canadian law because i never lived a year i could remember. i don't even know anyone in canada. my entire life is here. there is virtually nothing different between me and an american citizen besides a piece of paper. not only do i want to be here

but almost 90% of my country wants me to be here, too. so i'm confused. but that doesn't mean that i'm not hopeful, nor does it mean that i've given up. i'm here to ask everyone listening, to the congress members, the supreme court justices, the president o the pe united states. let's find a solution to this problem. let's be on the right side of history sooner rather than later. the time for common sense immigration reform is now. thank you. [applause] next i want to invite. i'm a little short, so bear with me. just a second. for 21 years i've been pledging

allegiance to the flag of the united states of america. i came to the country when i was just 2-years-old so the united states is the only country i've ever known. it's the place i learned to speak a second language. the man who taught me how to speak english is not an american citizen. i worked with my father as well as a certification need of a senior living center where i'm studying to become a nurse. i'm also studying for another bachelor's degree and ethics. it's also america. america is where i fallen in love with my best friend. that's where they've gotten married and where i would love to give birth to my daughter. my husband is a specialist in the camps national guard in the last year he was called to active duty service in the middle east for nine months overseas.

while he served his country, i was at home caring for our now 3-year-old daughter, going to school and working. those nine months when my husband was away where hard as any single parents can appreciate but to do so with the feared i wouldn't be home when my husband got home was almost unbearable. parents worry. it's something almost impossible to avoid when you love someone as much as a parent wants their child. but now imagine having to develop a deportation plan while your husband is literally thousands of miles away. that will swallow you whole. my husban husband thought for ee in this country. for your rights as a service, my rights as an immigrant and asylum seekers plea for help a better tomorrow and the freedom of this country.

yet his own country will ensure that his own wife and mother of his child is protected from deportation. the decision that my parents needed to bring me to this country is something that i will never be able to thank them enough for. as a mother, i know i would have made the same choice. i can guarantee you that there is at least one person in your life whether it is a spouse, sibling, friend, coworker or neighbor directly affected by the current immigration crisis. they gave me a future with a chance to advocate and work and go to school. just imagine when it expired and i was waiting for the renewal to come in for two and a half weeks i have absolutely no status. i couldn't go to work and i couldn't go to school and i couldn't even renew my tags because you need a non- expired license for that.

the supreme court will now decide whether i'm allowed to remain in the country. whether i will be separated from my daughter and husband and sent to a country i barely remember. i want the justices to hear my story. sorry, i lost track. and i want every member of congress to understand what the years of inaction has meant for my family and to call on them and finally fix a broken immigration system not just for me but for the millions of immigrants across the country with no opportunity to get in line and earn a pathway to citizenship because no matter the decision from the court or an action in congress, i know that i'm right where i belong.

my home is here. [applause] [cheering] >> next we have antonio. >> good afternoon everyone. i am a plaintiff in the case and i came to the u.s. in 2012 due to the top of my grandparents, my parents decided to return to mexico and i decided to stay here to fight for their dreams and mine became the first one in my family to graduate from college. ultimately to live without the t the fear of deportation. for many of us here this is the only home we know. we have friends, connections, family and loved ones. even though my family is in

mexico, i consider new york my home. i have my friends there. if they allow them to move forward it means that we will lose our job and the efforts to get an education because i won't be able to use and contribute. they've benefited people like me and it is a successful program and should be maintained. we know that it is not the ultimate solution. undocumented citizens of the country deserve more. every single day we contribute to the economy, to the culture into the communities. therefore we also need to acknowledge the citizens of the country. today i hope because the numbers

and statistics from people like myself i hope they also remind themselves that the nation continues to be a place that welcomes the contributions and just before i go i also want to remind our elected officials that we are here and you see these beautiful faces it is because of the apparent sacrifices and not because we shouldn't be playing our parents because their decisions are the decisions that were the best for us and we wouldn't be here standing with you all without the sacrifices. [applause] thank you for your bravery and resilience. and now it is my honor to

introduce or final speaker who is the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi and she is somebody when she was a speaker at the first time her first go around past the dream act out of the house of representatives and the second time has passed again and we are waiting taking it up in the senate. this is somebody who in this legislative chamber in congress has been committed every day to make sure they are protected. speaker nancy pelosi. >> thank you for bringing us together so we can say thank you

thank you for giving us the opportunity to have you in our country. i am honored to be here with the chair of the congressional hispanic caucus and the godmother of the dream act, congresswoman the chairman now of the homeland security committee to be with our distinguished attorney general of california, our former colleague and the chant again on this issue in the congress and now in the cards. i don't know if he is here but he dedicated a good deal of his official life on behalf of the dreamers because he knows that what's good for the dreamers is good for america. the others have been here. senator menendez, speaker for this i want to acknowledge the

congresswoman among others who have joined us now. here we are on this day it should be a very hopeful one for the country. the supreme court of the united states will make a decision to either cause pain or find a solution by opposing what we think is the right thing to do. to put it in perspective, ronald reagan, and this isn't a partisan issue, president reagan after the congress passed comprehensive immigration bill of 1986, he said to congress you didn't go far enough, and he instituted family fairness which protected a higher percentage of people than the border. higher percentage if the congress had acted she said we should do more.

president george herbert walker bush and president george w. bush, president obama all subscribed to that. except this president which is so sad and now they have to decide as to whether president obama was correct in following the lead of president reagan protecting the newcomers in the country were to support the illicit acts of president trump and what he did. we urged the court sai to suppot the lower court's decision on this. we urged the court to do that and as suggested we talked about how much pain they would cause. this is an important day and we hope and pray that they will do the right thing. however, at the same time we are going over to the senate and i invite my colleagues to join me

as we go over to the senate to join hr six tha but was passed r 160 days ago. the american dream and promised act which is a remedy for the dreamers and the temporary protected status. this is a bill that has passed and has overwhelming support as has been mentioned. they are a manifestation of the greatness of the dreamers but also of the support that they have in the country and the communities in which they live. so again we are allowed to march over with this for some reason if the rules do not allow them to march with us but people walk

down the hall over time. in any event, we see everything as an opportunity. and this act we saw it on the steps of the supreme court this morning, hundreds of young people turning out, and friends to support them. all of them are wonderful but one of the signs say you might say i'm a dreamer but i'm not the only one. we want you to know you are not the only ones being dreamers. we have dreams for you as well and we fully intend to act upon them in as the senator said earlier we are not going away until the job is done. thank you for your courage. thank you for dreaming because that is a part of what america is. thank you all very much and

think you mr. chairman. [applause] [inaudible conversations]

[background sounds] >> may i have your attention. we're just about to start our hearing. natalie where are you. she needs to make a couple of announcements before we start. [inaudibleon