{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-continues-to-press-republican-congress-to-pass-the-dream-act-by-the-end-of-the-year", "Durbin Continues To Press Republican Congress To Pass The Dream Act By The End Of The Year", "2017-12-07", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "IL", "Richard Durbin", "D000563", "www.durbin.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.07.17\n\t\t\t Durbin Continues To Press Republican Congress To Pass The Dream Act By The End Of The Year \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Marks 100th Dreamer Story That Durbin Has Told On The Senate Floor\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON\u2014Three months after the Trump Administration\u2019s September 5th announcement that it will rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) again came to the Senate floor to call on Republican leaders in Congress to pass the bipartisan Dream Act before the end of the year.\u00a0 More than 11,000 Dreamers have already lost their DACA status, and beginning early next year, 1,000 additional young people will lose their protection from deportation each day.\r\nDuring his speech, Durbin shared the story of one Dreamer \u2013 Kyungmin Cho, who was just seven years old when his family brought him from Seoul, South Korea to the United States.\u00a0 Last year, Kyungmin enlisted in the army, through the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest program, known as MAVNI, and is now waiting to ship off to basic training.\u00a0 Kyungmin is the 100th Dreamer whose story Durbin has told on the Senate floor over the years.\u00a0 Other Dreamer stories are available here.\r\n\u201cWill we be a stronger country if we lose this kind of courage and this kind of commitment of a young man willing to risk his life for a country that does not legally recognize him as part of its population?\u201d asked Durbin.\u00a0 \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t do to this young man and to the thousands of others who count on us the unacceptable and walk away from our responsibility. \u00a0Now is the time \u2013 before the end of the year \u2013 to let this young man know that when he\u2019s called to serve our country, and proudly do so, we have done everything we can to clear his path.\u201d\u00a0\r\nVideo of Durbin\u2019s remarks on the Senate floor are available here.\r\nAudio of Durbin\u2019s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.\r\nFootage of Durbin\u2019s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.\u00a0\r\nKyungmin grew up in Palisades Park, New Jersey.\u00a0 From a young age, he excelled in his studies and was active in his community.\u00a0 In high school, he took multiple Advanced Placement courses, was Vice President of the National Honor Society, and President of his class.\u00a0 In high school, Kyungmin was also a member of the math and science academy, and a member of the Varsity track and field team.\u00a0 He was also a volunteer at his church, where he taught summer school.\u00a0 At the same time, he was working over 40 hours a week at a restaurant to help support his family.\r\nKyungmin is now a student at Temple University\u2019s Fox School of Business.\u00a0 He is studying accounting in the honors program.\u00a0 He continues to work two restaurant jobs for nearly 40 hours a week to support his family.\u00a0 Last year, Kyungmin enlisted in the army, through the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest program, known as MAVNI.\u00a0 The MAVNI program allows immigrants with skills that are \u201cvital to the national interest\u201d to enlist in the Armed Forces.\u00a0 More than 900 DACA recipients with these critical skills have joined the military through MAVNI.\u00a0 Kyungmin, along with many other Dreamers, is now waiting to ship off to basic training.\u00a0 He continues his undergraduate studies and is working full time while waiting for his chance to serve the country he loves.\r\nIn July, Durbin and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced the bipartisan Dream Act, which would allow immigrant students who grew up in the United States to earn lawful permanent residence and eventually American citizenship. These young people, known as Dreamers, have lived in America since they were children, built their lives here, and are American in every way except for their immigration status.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n    \n   \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-continues-to-press-republican-congress-to-pass-the-dream-act-by-the-end-of-the-year"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.0290790125727654, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}