DACA (Cong. Rec., May 6, 2020)

Summary

A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated May 6, 2020, at page S2266. It closes one speech urging the Senate to step up for State and local governments, then shows a roll call in which the Evanina nomination was confirmed, with 7 nays and 9 not voting. Mr. Durbin of Illinois, after 5 weeks at home in Springfield, speaks on DACA, recalling that he joined Senator Dick Lugar 9 years ago in asking President Obama to use executive authority to protect Dreamers, and noting that many health care workers are young immigrants. He tells the story of Manuel, a DACA recipient, and the Advocate Christ Medical Center, and warns about a pending Supreme Court ruling. Mr. Cardin also appears.

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“DACA (Cong. Rec., May 6, 2020).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-05-06-crec-2020-05-06-pt1-pgs2266-2f8d0334bb/, SHA-256 67b8dbdbb7f91f725fdd891d83178db7fd140536edfb906b60fe5060f4f5171d.

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S2266 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 6, 2020
kids to school, pray and play deserve NAYS—7 will put up the hashtag here so that if
help to get through this crisis too? Blumenthal Markey Wyden anyone wants to check in, they can do
Does anyone really believe that we will Duckworth Merkley so.
Hirono Warren Many of these healthcare workers are
be better off as a nation in fighting
this emergency if teachers, fire- NOT VOTING—9 young immigrants who came to the
fighters, police, sheriffs, and EMTs are Brown Moran Schatz United States as children. They are
laid off all over this country? Burr Murray Stabenow known as Dreamers. They are Amer-
Leahy Sanders Whitehouse
So I will close in just saying to my ican in every way except for their legal
colleagues: We stepped up big to refill The nomination was confirmed. immigration status. They were brought
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under here at an early age by parents who
the tank for small businesses and hos-
the previous order, the motion to re- didn’t give them a vote on the decision,
pitals. It is now time to step up for
consider is considered made and laid grew up in the United States, went to
State and local governments and indi-
upon the table, and the President will our schools, sometimes all the way
viduals and families.
be immediately notified of the Senate’s through college and professional
I yield the floor. action. school, want to make a life in this
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. The Senator from Illinois. country, have no criminal record, and
PERDUE). Under the previous order, all DACA are just looking for a chance.
postcloture time is expired. Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I spent 5 It was 9 years ago when I joined Re-
The question is, Will the Senate ad- weeks in my home in Springfield, IL, publican Senator Dick Lugar on a bi-
vise and consent to the Evanina nomi- following orders—good ones—to sug- partisan basis asking President Obama
nation? gest that I had to get out of circulation to use his executive authority to pro-
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask for and so should everyone else. It was an tect these Dreamers from deportation.
the yeas and nays. interesting moment. My wife and I He responded and created the Deferred
think it may have been the longest Action for Childhood Arrivals, or
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a DACA.
stretch we had ever spent under the
sufficient second? DACA provides temporary protection
same roof together. We got along,
There is a sufficient second. which is good, and I got to field the from deportation for Dreamers if they
The clerk will call the roll. neighborhood a little more than I usu- register with the government, pay a
The senior assistant legislative clerk ally do as I travel back and forth al- substantial fee, and go through a
called the roll. most every week. criminal background check. More than
I got to know the people a little 800,000 Dreamers came forward and re-
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators ceived President Obama’s DACA pro-
are necessarily absent: the Senator more, waving from a distance. I looked
around and noticed that almost every tection.
from North Carolina (Mr. BURR) and DACA unleashed the full potential
the Senator from Kansas (Mr. MORAN). lawn had a sign on it saying: ‘‘We love
healthcare workers.’’ Many people had for these Dreamers that they never
Further, if present and voting, the dreamed they would have, and they
signs in their windows to back that up
Senator from Kansas (Mr. MORAN) started contributing to America as sol-
too, and we should. These doctors,
would have voted ‘‘yea.’’ diers and teachers and small business
these nurses, and these people who
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the owners.
work in nursing homes caring for the
Senator from Ohio (Mr. BROWN), the More than 200,000 DACA recipients
elderly and making certain they are in
Senator from Vermont (Mr. LEAHY), are now categorized as ‘‘essential crit-
a good, safe environment are impor- ical infrastructure workers’’—‘‘essen-
the Senator from Washington (Mrs. tant, and they are risking their lives
MURRAY), the Senator from Vermont tial critical infrastructure workers.’’
for the people whom we love. We thank Who came up with that name? It is the
(Mr. SANDERS), the Senator from Ha- them over and over. But there is one
waii (Mr. SCHATZ), the Senator from definition of President Trump’s own
part of that group that I would like to Department of Homeland Security. One
Michigan (Ms. STABENOW), and the Sen- highlight for just a few moments on
ator from Rhode Island (Mr. WHITE- out of four of these DACA protectees
the floor of the Senate. I want to spend are essential critical infrastructure
HOUSE) are necessarily absent. a few minutes talking about one spe- workers, and among these essential
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there cial group of healthcare workers—im- workers are 41,700 DACA recipients in
any other Senators in the Chamber de- migrants. the healthcare industry. They include
siring to vote? One in six healthcare and social serv- doctors, intensive care nurses, para-
The result was announced—yeas 84, ice workers—3.1 million out of 18.7 mil- medics, and respiratory therapists.
nays 7, as follows: lion—are immigrants. When they come But on September 5, 2017, President
on television and give us a breakdown Trump repealed DACA. Because of that
[Rollcall Vote No. 83 Ex.]
of what is going on in emergency action by the President, hundreds of
YEAS—84 rooms and the likelihood of our success thousands of Dreamers face losing
Alexander Fischer Perdue in communities in dealing with this their jobs, but, more importantly, they
Baldwin Gardner Peters coronavirus, you must notice so many
Barrasso Gillibrand Portman face being deported, many to countries
Bennet Graham Reed times and think that they may be new- they barely remember, if they remem-
Blackburn Grassley Risch comers to the United States. Many of ber at all.
Blunt Harris Roberts them are. The courts stepped in and blocked
Booker Hassan Romney
Boozman Hawley Rosen
These immigrants are playing a crit- the President from enforcing this
Braun Heinrich Rounds ical role in the battle against this pan- DACA decision, but he took on the ap-
Cantwell Hoeven Rubio demic. Yet the President of the United peal of that decision, and now it is in
Capito Hyde-Smith Sasse States and many around him continue
Cardin Inhofe Schumer
the Supreme Court, just across the
Carper Johnson Scott (FL) to disparage immigrants, falsely claim- street.
Casey Jones Scott (SC) ing that they are just a drain on soci- I was proud to lead 172 current and
Cassidy Kaine Shaheen ety, that all they are doing is taking former Members of Congress on a bi-
Collins Kennedy Shelby
Coons King Sinema
our jobs away and we really wouldn’t partisan brief asking the Supreme
Cornyn Klobuchar Smith miss them if they were gone. So I came Court to rule against President
Cortez Masto Lankford Sullivan to the floor today to tell a story about Trump’s repeal of DACA. These young
Cotton Lee Tester one of them, an immigrant health hero. DACA recipients are being protected
Cramer Loeffler Thune
Crapo Manchin Tillis I will be joined by some of my col- while the case is being considered by
Cruz McConnell Toomey leagues who have similar stories to the Supreme Court, but a decision
Daines McSally Udall tell. could come down any day—could come
Durbin Menendez Van Hollen We are inviting people to share their down any day—that basically makes
Enzi Murkowski Warner
Ernst Murphy Wicker own stories on social media using the these young people subject to deporta-
Feinstein Paul Young hashtag ‘‘immigranthealthheroes.’’ I tion and takes away any legal right

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May 6, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2267
they have to work. If the Court rules in Manuel was brought to the United who simply want a chance to prove
favor of President Trump on DACA, States when he was 2 years old. He themselves to earn their way into
200,000 essential American workers will grew up in Memphis, TN. He always America’s future. It would be an Amer-
be sidelined and deported, even as we wanted to become a doctor. He wrote ican tragedy at this moment when we
fight this pandemic. me a letter, and he said: face this national emergency to lose
Last month, I sent a letter to the Early on, I developed an appreciation for these brave and talented young people.
President—37 of my colleagues joined the medical profession when I witnessed the They are saving lives every day, and
me—urging him to extend the work au- compassionate care received by a loved one they are risking their own to do it. Can
thorization for DACA recipients, not to at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. we ask anything more of anyone else in
make their future depend on what hap- Manuel graduated in the top 10 per- this country? We must ensure that
pens in the Court. The President has cent of his hospital class. He was a Manuel and hundreds of thousands of
the authority to say that, at least until leader of several high school honor so- others in our essential workforce are
the end of the calendar year—or be- cieties. In his spare time, he was a not forced to stop working when their
yond, I hope—we are not going to de- swimmer, a football player, and volun- services are needed now more than
port these young people, and we are teered at the St. Jude Club and the Key ever.
not going to take their jobs away, par- Club. Ultimately, we need to pass legisla-
ticularly those in the healthcare indus- He continued his education at the tion that is just common sense, that
try. University of Tennessee at Chat- says these young people who came here
But if you consider President tanooga. He graduated summa cum as kids and have worked doubly hard
Trump’s attitude toward immigrants, laude in biology with a minor in chem- under the greatest of pressures and
you know he is likely to forge ahead istry. In college, he worked as a med- have made a success of their lives, like
with his decision to deport the Dream- ical scribe for doctors in the emer- this young man, can stay in America
ers. That means we have to do our part. gency room at a small community hos- and be part of our future. He is truly a
I worked with Republican Senator pital in Chattanooga. After this experi- healthcare hero, and he is an immi-
LINDSEY GRAHAM, chairman of the Sen- ence, he decided he wanted to go all the grant. He is an immigrant healthcare
ate Judiciary Committee, to include a way. He wanted to become an emer- hero, and there are thousands just like
provision to automatically extend gency room physician. He continued him across America. We need them now
work authorizations for DACA recipi- his education at Loyola University more than ever.
ents in the CARES Act that Congress Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. I see that Senator CORTEZ MASTO is
just passed a few weeks ago. We pre- Allow me a few seconds to praise this here. I know she wants to speak on this
sented it to the leaders on a bipartisan wonderful school. He was one of dozens subject.
basis. We had the approval of Senate of DACA recipients at Stritch, which I yield the floor to her.
Democratic leader CHUCK SCHUMER and was the first medical school to admit The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. COT-
Speaker of the House NANCY PELOSI, DACA students. They do not receive TON). The Senator from Nevada.
but not the Republican leader in the any special treatment in the selection f
Senate. He stopped us from extending process, and they are not eligible for a
this protection. I don’t know what his penny in Federal financial assistance. LEGISLATIVE SESSION
situation is in Kentucky, but I can tell Many of them borrowed money from
you that in Illinois, we need every one the State of Illinois to complete their MORNING BUSINESS
of these healthcare workers we have medical education in the hopes that
today. We can’t afford to lose them. To once they are licensed, they can come Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President,
think that 41,000 DACA recipients and back and practice in our State, which I ask unanimous consent that the Sen-
another 11,000 TPS critical healthcare they promise to do. ate proceed to legislative session for a
workers would be deported would mean Here is what Manuel says DACA period of morning business, with Sen-
that many Americans who count on means to him: ators permitted to speak therein for up
these great professionals are going to DACA has undoubtedly opened up many to 10 minutes each.
get less care and perhaps terrible re- doors for me. It meant allowing me to obtain The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
sults. my dream of serving others through emer- objection, it is so ordered.
As Congress debates the next legisla- gency medicine. If DACA ended, I would be f
tion to address the COVID–19 pan- forced to stop doing not only what I love
doing but what I trained so hard to do. DACA
demic, I will continue pushing for this
provision. It is not too much to ask Today, Dr. Manuel Bernal is an emer- Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President,
that if these people simply want to be gency room resident at Advocate I rise, along with my good friend and
working in ERs and hospitals, risking Christ Medical Center in Chicago, one colleague, the senior Senator from Illi-
their lives for all of us, that they at of the busiest trauma hospitals in our nois, to stress the importance of what
least have the peace of mind to know city. His supervisor told him he did not is happening in this country right now
that they can stay until the end of the have to treat COVID–19 patients be- and who is on the frontline during this
calendar year. That is all I am asking cause he is only a resident, but he healthcare crisis and why we need to
for. Is it too much to ask? Some of stepped forward and volunteered to do support them. There is no doubt.
them are suffering, and their families it anyway. I just came from Nevada. There are
are suffering too. All they want is the Manuel’s DACA is set to expire in Oc- so many essential workers who are
authority to stay here. tober, 5 months from now. Will Amer- risking their lives, as well as their
Last year, the House of Representa- ica be stronger if this doctor leaves? loved ones, to provide essential care
tives passed the Dream and Promise Will they be better at Advocate Christ and help for individuals, not just in Ne-
Act, based on the Dream Act, with a Medical Center, the trauma hospital, if vada but across the country. We are
strong vote. Senator MCCONNELL has Manuel was forced to leave this coun- talking about healthcare workers. We
refused to call it in the Senate. It could try? I can’t imagine anyone would an- are talking about transit drivers, sani-
help us. I wish he would consider it. swer yes. tation workers, first responders. We
I have come to the floor over 100 Manuel and hundreds of thousands of are talking about those who are work-
times and told the stories of Dreamers. other Dreamers are counting on the ing with the grocery stores, showing up
I don’t think there is any better way to Supreme Court to reject President every day to make sure that individ-
make the case—meet them, know Trump’s abolition of DACA and count- uals in need can have the groceries
them, realize what they brought to ing on us who serve in the Senate to they so require during this healthcare
America and what they bring each day. solve this crisis President Trump alone crisis.
Today, I want to tell you the story of created. As long as I am a U.S. Sen- So much is at stake right now. I do
this man. His name is Manuel Bernal. ator, I will continue to come to the not want to forget all of those State
He works in the emergency department floor of the Senate to advocate for and local government workers. Right
at the Advocate Christ Medical Center. Manuel and for thousands of others now in my State, there are so many

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