Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today spoke on the Senate floor in defense of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and in support of the Dream Act of 2017.
Click HERE to watch Bennet's full remarks on YouTube.
Click HERE to read Bennet's full remarks on Medium.
"In Colorado, over 17,000 young people came forward to take the government at its word and share their information to apply for DACA," Bennet said. "Each one of them placed their faith in us to protect them and their families until we came to a long-term solution about their status. Today, President Trump has betrayed that trust. Worse, his decision to rescind DACA betrays the very character of our country. Congress must act swiftly to clean up the damage this administration has unleashed. And that starts with passing the Dream Act. Now is the time for our Republican colleagues to come forward on this important piece of legislation."
In the speech, Bennet highlighted two stories of Dreamers in Colorado, Marissa Molina and Marco Dorado, who have graduated from college and are contributing to our economy. Like the nearly 800,000 DACA recipients around the country, their futures are uncertain.
Bennet also told the story of hosting five college students at his home who received protection under DACA.
"I heard more anxiety than any young person in this country should have to face," Bennet said. "But I also heard a series of aspirations...like young people across this country, they envision a bright future for themselves. We've taught them to do that since they were kids. Now, we should let them realize it."
Earlier today, Bennet cosponsored the Dream Act of 2017.
The Dream Act would allow a select group of young immigrants to contribute more fully to the only country they know as home and offer a pathway to earned citizenship by granting conditional permanent residence followed by lawful permanent residence to those who meet set criteria.
Bennet was a cosponsor of the DREAM Act of 2010 and a member of the Gang of Eight, a group of bipartisan senators that drafted and secured passage of comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. Senate in 2013.